SG1: The High Priestess of Caelur
by CelticLady00
Summary: SG-1 visits a new planet where they encounter the Caelurians, a warrior race who descend from the surviving daughters of Boudicea, the Iceni Queen who rebelled against the Romans in AD 61.
1. Chapter 1

**The High Priestess of Caelur**

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**Title: **The High Priestess of Caelur

**Author:** Celtic Lady

**Genre: **Adventure, SciFi

**Pairing(s): **None

**Characters: **Stargate SG-1general cast plus an other character named Kintana (AKA Kinta)

**Rating: **M (age 13+), Sexual situations, some explicit language.

**Summary: **SG-1 visits a new planet where they encounter the Caelurians, a warrior race who descend from the surviving daughters of Boudicea, the Iceni Queen who rebelled against the Romans in AD 61.

**Author's Note:** I sometimes will make a music recommendation that can be played while you read a particular section. Just Google the song I recommend and you should be able to find it online to listen to. This story introduces my back story for Kinta, which includes Stargate SG-1, and will eventually progress to the Stargate Universe series before I'm finished.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the characters so please don't sue. If the real owners want to use anything from my story (yeah, wishful thinking), go ahead, you can have it for free. :-)

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**This story begins sometime late in Stargate SG-1, Season 5:**

**In the beginning . . .**

Kintana, known primarily as Kinta, lived among the descendants of the two surviving daughters of Boudicea, the Iceni Queen who rebelled against the Romans in AD 61 on Earth and was ultimately defeated. At a young age, Kinta was abandoned by her mother on the moon Aedin and raised by the inhabitants living there. The moon, Aedin, was the modern, technological center and Caelur was the backward, medieval planet which Aedin circled. The King and Queen made periodic pilgrimages to the planet for special occasions like the solstices and eclipses where they hosted the celebrations. Other than that, the two civilizations had no contact to the point where those from Aedin have no resistance to the illnesses of the planet and are required to get inoculations before traveling there. Because Caelur is primarily technology free, citizens of Aedin only visit there to hunt the prized saber-toothed tigers that roam there free. The meat, however, cannot be imported into Aedin and must be left on the planet - only the fur can be imported after being radiated first.

In Kinta's young adult life, Aedin was struck by a meteor and the inhabitants had to quickly flee to the planet Caelur for safety while the moon was completely destroyed. Not having received immunizations for the virus' that prevailed there, all became ill and 80% perished, including King Bacauda, leaving the survivors in the minority on the planet where brute force was the normal way of life. Queen Penarddun and her daughter, Tegan, did their best to merge the two worlds where only her title offered her some salvation but she knew tradition would wane if she did not prove herself a leader. With no technology available, they must play the local's game.

The Caelurian tribes resented the Queen's intrusion and had begun a method of thinning the weaker Aedin warriors from their ranks by utilizing a sacrificial alter to the goddess Medb. Medb's alter rested midway up the hillside in an alcove that had been cut out from the rock. It consisted of a 10 foot metallic disk about 8" deep which contained ancient markings and rested horizontally on a pedestal. When a warrior was seriously injured in their war games, he was stripped naked, tied to this alter, and left overnight as a sacrifice to Medb. If she favored him, he would survive the night and be healed, otherwise, he would be found torn apart by the saber-toothed tigers. Queen Penarddun quickly realized that anyone left bleeding on the alter overnight didn't stand a chance.

About this time, Princess Tegan was seriously injured and everyone feared her death was imminent. While the princess lay in a dirt-floor hut dying, Kinta could no longer keep her abilities secret and cautiously approached the Queen confessing that she was able to heal individuals by laying her hand on their bare skin. Desperate, the Queen allowed her to demonstrate on Tegan and was amazed to find she told the truth. With her daughter saved, Queen Penarddun brought Kinta into her confidence and together they worked out a ploy to save the surviving Aedin warriors. At this point, Kinta also admitted that she could also read minds – a feat which the Queen decided to take full advantage of.

Shortly thereafter, Kinta accused a local warrior, Gobhan, of being her father to the point of disrupting the tiny village they lived in. With complaints accumulating, Queen Penarddun had no choice but to exile Kinta from the village. This quickly freed her to guard the overnight sacrifices left on the alter for Medb. At Kinta's request, the Queen altered the sacrificial process slightly by requiring the person wear a golden helmet thus blindfolding them and greatly reducing their ability to hear as she said, to spare them from viewing their impending horror.

Meanwhile, Kinta had taken refuge in a hillside cave where she had installed a heavy wooden door for safety. With free time on her hands, Kinta began enhancing the alter with golden wall panels she inscribed with religious inscriptions and soon Gobhan began mocking her by referring to her as a priestess. The other villagers followed suite and the whole ordeal became a joke at Kinta's expense. But Kinta persevered and after installing the panels on the rock face wall, was able to dig from within her cave and carve a hidden passageway, with one of the panels acting as a secret door. This gave her access to the alter undetected. In time, she was able to enclose the area more with a covered pavilion encircled by a rock pillars and installed a fire pit which offered warmth to the person tied down.

It didn't take long, for the surviving warriors to begin speaking of their experiences and how Medb had healed them and offered words of wisdom for them to follow. Intrigued, Calum, the leader of the Caelurian warriors ordered one of his men to allow himself to be injured and placed on the sacrificial alter so he could report back what took place.

This was what Kinta and the Queen were waiting for. That night, Kinta visited the warrior and using her telepathic ability, made him believe that Medb was speaking directly to him. She was able to implant a pale, transparent image of a robust, red headed woman with a boisterous voice who was not too pleased with the way things were playing out between her people. She cited deceit and treachery as her enemy and demanded that it stop. Kinta then healed the man while Medb ordered him to carry that message back to his leaders. The message did not go unheeded and there was some improvement but the Aedin warriors were still looked on with disdain.

Through the course of healing warriors more frequently, Kinta had discovered that it was an exhausting experience for her and that it drained her frequently of all her energy requiring she sleep for days to recuperate. She wasn't sure how much longer she could continue but was determined to serve her Queen to the best of her ability. One night, the warrior Trevor was laid upon the slab, whom Kinta had feelings for, and she took the Medb illusion a step further by making love to him under the disguise of being Medb. To her surprise, she found herself energized rather than drained and was elated to discover a solution to her problem although it was slightly unorthodox. Kinta was also surprised when she experienced a vision about Trevor which later came true – she thought it best, however, to keep that ability to herself out of fear. The Caelurians were quite superstitious and she didn't want to be burned at the stake or hung for being a witch. By this time, Kinta had read quite a few minds and learned quite a few secrets about the people of the village – a tool that proved quite useful to the Queen. There were also a few times when the Queen ordered Kinta to let a warrior die who was a threat to the well-being of the kingdom or to herself. Although this disturbed her greatly, she did as the Queen asked. On these occasions, Kinta slept little throughout the night as she pictured the victim, helpless on the alter, being ripped apart by the ferocious tigers.

Kinta had also learned quite a lot about the art of fighting by reading the techniques the warriors used and practiced them in the privacy of her cave. She knew it was a harsh world and she needed to be strong now. She had elevated herself by becoming a confidant of the Queen, something which would have been unheard of on their former moon, but she knew all too well that it could end as suddenly as it began. The villagers still saw her as an innocent girl and if the Queen should die, all she had obtained would be gone. Things had changed greatly in her life, but she had no idea how much her world was going to change yet again when four strangers walked through the chappa'ai.

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The shimmer of the Stargate turned off as the SG-1 team walked down the platform and onto the ground. It looked like they had just missed a rain shower which didn't help the chill in the air as the mist of each exhaled breath was visible.

Teal'c, with his keen sense of observation, was the first to speak, "It appears this path has not been used in quite some time O'Neill."

The other's followed his gaze to the overgrown path that lead across the large open field and into the dense forest.

"Well, if nobody's home, we'll just leave a note." O'Neill quipped in his usual sarcastic manner.

Everyone knew the drill. They were going down the path no matter what so there was no reason to believe otherwise or complain. Someone had obviously been here so they might as well go see what they were looking at.

After about an hour, Teal'c motioned for them to stop as they all listened. Voices - there was life here after all.

"Now the fun begins," O'Neill whispered to himself. He had done this dozens of times and each time was different. Some villages gave no thought to them while other's totally freaked out. They continued on until they reached the edge of the village and then stopped to assess the situation.

Dr. Jackson looked around intently, "Looks like iron or bronze age weapons and tools." This meant the village was backward and they had to be careful of traditions and superstitions.

As they continued onward, the villagers stopped what they were doing and starred as the strangers walk into their town. O'Neill gave them a little nod hello.

When they reached the largest structure, a stout dark-haired woman emerged. She was wearing an animal skin cloak and long blue dress accompanied by two men beside her. She smiled, which was a good sign, but her language wasn't English as she held up her hand to greet them. "_Deit mat oh_."

Daniel, can you tell what they're saying? Carter asked.

"I think it's a dialect of Briton. But I'm not totally sure," he explained.

The woman motioned them inside and spoke to one of the men who hurried away. Once inside, they were seated in a central area and given food and drinks.

The woman tried in vane to communicate with them and finally just sat silently as she watched the door. It wasn't long before a young lady entered also cloaked in animal skins but wearing pants and boots. After a brief exchange of words, the young girl sat down to join them.

She motioned to herself, "Kinta." She tapped her chest to try and indicate her name was Kinta.

Daniel was elated and in turn pointed to himself, "Daniel Jackson." He then pointed to the rest and gave their names: "Teal'c, Samantha Carter, Jack O'Neill." Each one nodded as their name was spoken.

The girl gave a surprised look, "O'Neill. Good name."

Daniel's eyes widened in surprised. "You speak English?"

The girl held up her hand to stop him as she gazed into each of their faces. "I learn your language now." She focused on them for several minutes with her hand raised and then finally lowered it. She turned to the woman next to her and spoke at great length between themselves in their native tongue.

Finally, she turned back to Daniel and motioned to the woman next to her, "I present Queen Penarddun of Caelur. We are very happy to meet you."

Daniel picked up the slight Gaelic accent as Kinta spoke which seemed to confirm his original suspicion that they were of Celtic origin.

For the next hour, questions and answers were exchanged between the two groups at great length. As the questioning continued, Kinta's grasp of the English language improved. Then, she turned to the Queen and focused on her for several minutes after which the Queen was able to converse with them in English as well.

"How did you do that?" O'Neill pointed between Kinta and Queen Penarddun.

Cautiously, Kinta replied, "I am telepathic."

This brought more questions and finally the Queen alluded that only Kinta had this gift so they would have to bear with the limited communication between their people. Wanting to change the subject, the Queen continued with questions.

"From what world do you come?"

Daniel quickly responded, "Earth. We come from a planet called Earth and many people call us the Tau'ri."

She offered her own planet's history as well, "We once lived on the moon, Aedin, but it was destroyed by meteors and all of our people's had to merge together on this planet of Caelur. We were quite advanced on Aedin but that is all gone now." The Queen looked at the guns they were carrying and pointed to O'Neill's. "I see you have advanced beyond bows and arrows as well."

O'Neill smiled slightly as he raised an eyebrow. The Queen seemed quite observant and he was concerned that she focused on his weapon. "Yes, we've done well."

She then offered him a word of advice, "We have been thrown back into the stone age and the native Caelurians frown on any weapon other than the sword or spear. Those of us from Aedin are still considered outsiders because we no longer had use for such weapons. The Caelurians will not take it well if you fire your weapon in this village therefore, I would suggest you carry a sword should you have need to defend yourself."

She had her men bring each of them a sword and sheath for their use.

Reluctantly, O'Neill replied, "Thank you."

After the team finished their meal, they were shown around the village and introduced to several people of importance. Kinta returned to her mountain home and left them in the care of the Queen. Things seemed to be going well, and Daniel had lots of questions for them, so they made a brief trip to the gate to communicate with Stargate Command. O'Neill decided to spend the night and explore some more in the morning, however, the inhabitants forgot to mention that saber-toothed tigers roamed the woods. They were almost back to the safety of the village, when a tiger attacked them.

The team instinctively used their own weapons to kill the animal and the noise brought the entire village to their aid. Unfortunately, the Caelurian warriors became more and more belligerent against them because of it and the Queen found herself helpless in protecting them but not without trying.

[**Author's Note:** When the native Caelurians speak in their native tongue, I am putting the dialog in _italics_ since I do not know the language and would bet that my readers do not as well.]

Calum challenged the team to a fight with swords and drew his own, ready to begin. _"He has insulted our ways."_ The Queen quickly stepped in and stopped him. _"Calum, they are visitors. They do not 'know' our ways."_

She turned to O'Neill and told him of the challenge, "He takes insult that you have used your advanced weapons and challenges you to fight him by their ways. This is what I feared might happen."

Suddenly, Calum's men seized SG-1's weapons and encircled them.

"_Calum, let us return to our village where the games can be properly conveyed."_ The Queen knew things were getting out of hand quickly but hopefully, in the village, her own warriors could keep the visitor's safe.

Calum agreed. Surrounded, the Stargate team had no choice but to comply.

They were lead to an area encircled by large stones where Calum took his place and again drew his sword. He pointed to O'Neill indicating his choice of fighting partner. Suddenly, Quinn, a warrior of the Queen, came forward. _"I will fight for him."_ This was customary and would usually have been acceptable except this time, Calum refused.

The Queen quickly explained everything, "Calum has refused to accept my warrior to fight in your place so you will have to fight him yourself – it is out of my hands now. The first to draw blood is the winner. The looser will be placed on the sacrificial stone to Medb."

Daniel Jackson immediately picked up on the word sacrificial which worried him as he inquired guardedly, "Just exactly what is the sacrificial stone?"

The Queen answered him as best she could. "The loser is taken up into the mountains and tied naked onto the alter for the Goddess Medb where he is left overnight. The alter is what we call the sacrificial stone. If he survives the night without being eaten by the tigers, he is released."

This didn't sound good at all. Although O'Neill held his own well, he was no expert with a sword and Calum eventually thrust the blade into Jack's side. The fighting was ended, or so the team thought, as Teal'c and the rest of SG-1 came to his aid to tend to his wound. But they were violently pushed back. A group of men picked up O'Neill, threw him on a makeshift gurney, and began carrying him up the hillside. The sun was low in the sky as a procession of men brought him to the alter under the protests of the SG-1 team. His clothing was quickly removed, revealing the blood trickling down his side as he was bound tightly onto the alter with restraints. The helmet was placed on his head while drums beat out a eerily thump, thump, thump.

"_We shall see if Medb welcomes the stranger to our land as easily as our Queen does_," Calum announced to the crowd followed by cheers.

He then had his men drag the unarmed Teal'c, Daniel and Carter down the hill by force leaving O'Neill alone.

"You're leaving him like a piece of meat!" Daniel complained on deaf ears as he tried to break free.

Unable to escape and rescue their friend, the team thought the worst when the Queen approached them.

"Do not fear for your friend," she whispered. "Kinta will watch over him and heal his wounds. She has done it before. That is why she lives alone outside the village."

Carter quickly injected, "But can she fight off the tigers? Those things are huge!"

The Queen smiled calmly. "She has never failed me yet."

They had no choice but to wait and see but the worry was evident knowing Jack's life literally hung in Kinta's hands. To pass the time, Dr. Jackson inquired about the history of Aedin and Caelur and where they had come from before that.

Queen Penarddun was joined by her daughter, Tegan, who had also acquired the English language from Kinta. Together, they sat around the warmth of the fire as the Queen began to tell the story of Boudicea.

"When Boudicea's husband, King Prasutagus, died, a conquering race took all their land and violated their daughters so Boudicea revolted against them in a great battle. All went well but eventually, they were defeated and the two daughters, Heanua and Lannosea, were taken to the Durotriges tribe who had advanced knowledge and a way to send the girls to safety in a far off land."

Daniel Jackson briefly interrupted with exhilaration, "Boudicea. I know that name. She was the Iceni queen who fought the Roman's on our planet. She was defeated in 61 AD and no one knew what happened to her daughters. We thought they died."

This excited the Queen greatly to learn that Boudicea was of the Tau'ri race. That meant that these people were in a way related to them and possibly might help her people get back on their feet.

"Yes, she was Iceni. So it was from your planet that the two daughters came. Then you are our brothers."

This was a great revelation to Dr. Jackson as well who wanted to know more. "How did they exactly get here?" He pointed to the ground to illustrate his statement.

Queen Penarddun laughed boisterously at his enthusiasm. "You must remember, this was a long time ago before we had a written language." She took a drink of her warm ale and began to recount the stories she had heard as a child.

"When I was little, my father, Beli, once told me a story of how the Durotriges helped the two princess' escape certain death by their enemies. They had a great stone hedge which formed a circle and a box covered in gold was placed in the middle of this circle. Apparently this box contained advanced technology but we were simply told it was magical and that only the Durotriges knew how to use it. The girls and many protective followers were instantly transported to a chappa'ai where they dialed the planet Caelur and came here. Later, we also colonized the moon. I do not know how they knew the address of this planet or even how we knew to travel to the moon but we must have had that knowledge at some point and lost it."

Daniel spoke softly to himself, "Stone hedge . . . you must be referring to Stonehenge. The Roman's tried to destroy it by tearing it down."

The Queen shook her head in understanding. "That is why no one ever followed. It is good to meet our family who stayed behind and know that you survived."

While the Queen entertained her guests, Kinta began playing her part as Medb. She spoke to O'Neill telepathically and introduced herself. "I am the goddess Medb. For what reason do you come before me?" She demanded.

She lit the fire pit as O'Neill pleaded in a muffled voice inside the helmet, "Just untie me and I'll be on my way. No harm, no foul."

[**Music Recommendation:** The Battle of Stirling by James Horner (Braveheart)]

Kinta looked at his wound and knew it was serious. He wasn't going anywhere. She started a music box which played a lively Celtic tune while she removed her heavy cloak and began healing him by laying her hands upon his body. Besides the fire, the sound of the music helped relax the victim and kept animals away while she was preoccupied with her task.

In the time she had been doing this, Kinta had perfected many techniques which made the task easier. Arousing O'Neill sexually made it effortless for her to read his mind in a deeper state and for a longer period of time, otherwise, she had to focus more intently which distracted her from monitoring her surroundings including the saber-toothed tigers who Kinta had no desire to fight. She discovered that creating the illusion of beating drums and bagpipes to match the music box made the illusion more surreal. She would then massage their body in a seductive way to help them relax and ultimately surrender allowing Medb to do what she wanted with them. Once they reached a heightened state of arousal, Kinta began her process - their minds were much easier to penetrate and see details they might otherwise want to keep hidden. If they had more information she wanted to know, Kinta simply prolonged the arousal telepathically, as Medb of course, until she was finished. By doing it telepathically, they were not limited to the restrictions of their mortal body.

Since Jack O'Neill had lots of information she wanted to know regarding his technology and his planet, she kept him in an aroused state of mind for hours on end. Ignoring his moans of pleasure, she explored his world through his own experiences and what she found was amazing.

She saw Stargate Command and how vast and deep it was in the ground. She witnessed O'Neill's missions to far planets and participation in wars on his own planet. Jets flew overhead as bombs were dropped amidst clouds of smoke and debris, Jaffa troops marched on cities and annihilated civilizations with weapons and spaceships that she could never have imagined, she saw the glowing eyes of the Goa'uld leaders and their unmerciful actions towards anyone to defied them yet O'Neill's people did defy them with all the determination of warriors on a great mission. And she felt O'Neill's pain and tears as friends were lost by his side and at the loss of his own son – but she also saw peaceful scenes as he laughed with friends and enjoyed the life he had. This was truly someone who could help them. Kinta decided that allowing him to see their world of Aedin might make them curious to know more of their technology, since she discovered that was what they sought. So she placed many images of her planet's accomplishments in his mind under the guise of a bragging Medb. Although they didn't have vast weapons, she had to show him that they were technologically advanced and could learn.

After she finished, Kinta placed a heavy blanket on him to keep him warm overnight, as a slight drizzle of rain began to fall. She pulled her cloak closer around her for warmth as she prepared to stand guard over this amazing warrior. Kinta also used her telepathic ability to keep animals away – she could sense their presence and knew when they were approaching. By putting an image in their mind of a ruthless beast, she could easily scare them away without having to physically fight them. This was discovered out of necessity after leaving the safety of the village. She would have to take care of herself now with no help from anyone else although many times, she felt the loneliness unbearable.

After she saw the sun rising in the morning, Kinta watched for the procession to begin climbing the mountain indicating that it was time for her to leave. She snatched the blanket from O'Neill, waking him up in the process, and made a quick retreat through the hidden door she had made. The main entryway to her cave was much further away and far out of sight so that while the warriors were busy conversing with O'Neill through Tegan, Kinta easily crept past them and went straight to the Queen to report what she had found.

"_My Queen, this race is as advanced as we once were. I detected databanks which they call computers much like we used on Aedin. They also have an advanced communication system and food is easily accessible to all."_ Kinta was so excited, she quickly became out of breath as she forgot to breath as she spoke. _"They seek knowledge. You know, I was a technician on Aedin, perhaps I could even share my own knowledge in exchange for items we could use."_

This sounded like a good idea. They had very little otherwise that such an advanced race might want. The Queen had been trying to elicit information from the visitors on what they might be searching for so she could begin a longer relationship with these people. She needed desperately to rebuild their way of life.

Once O'Neill was dressed, the group returned to the grand hut where the Queen and Kinta were waiting.

"Greetings O'Neill," the Queen announced as she approached him. "I see Medb has been good to you and healed your wounds."

O'Neill just grumbled, "Among other things!" He had already filled his team in on what had happened while they had informed him of Kinta's protection overnight. It didn't take much for him to put two and two together and realized that it must have been Kinta who had her way with him and healed him.

After eating breakfast, O'Neill, still irritated by the events that had happened, decided it was time to return to Earth. "Thank you for your hospitality, but we need to go now."

The Queen knew this was her chance. She had to play her cards right if it was going to work. "O'Neill, as you can see, we are in need of many things. We once were great and had a vast knowledge which we are happy to share. Of those of us who survived, Kinta is the most technologically gifted. I would like to send her with you in exchange for anything you can offer us."

Jack O'Neill wasn't exactly impressed with what he had seen so far and wanted nothing to do with any of them, especially Kinta. "No need for that." The last thing he wanted was a refugee. "Let me talk to my commander and see what we can do for you. But I make no promises."

The Queen tried to insist but O'Neill was firm in his decision. She finally realized it was useless and bid him farewell.

Kinta had been watching from the sidelines and knew the Tau'ri were not going to help. She ran up to O'Neill, "Can I walk with you to the chappa'ai at least. There are still tigers running around."

O'Neill wasn't keen on the idea but decided the extra protection couldn't hurt. He certainly didn't want to go through another challenge. "Yeah, okay. But only to the gate."

As they walked along, Kinta did most of the talking. "So tell me about your Stargate program. Do you just travel around to different villages and look for things?"

Everyone made an immediate stop. "How do you . . ." O'Neill started to say.

"How do I know about your Stargate program?" She finished his sentence. "What part of telepathic do you not understand? I read minds." Kinta explained yet again but a little bit more open this time. Her sarcasm showed slightly in the tone of her voice.

She began walking again and the group followed. "So do you ever find much?"

O'Neill figured it was no use to deny anything so he just resigned to the fact that she was aware of everything he knew. "Not really. Nice people is about it."

Kinta was disappointed. "So no reason for us to consider traveling through the gate to other worlds huh?"

She continually scanned the forest for movement as they walked. "I sure would like to get my hands on a solar panel."

O'Neill and the group stayed silent and kept walking.

"I'd figure out how to alter it for our use. I just need the unit to build from. Then I could possibly power one of our tools and build some better huts to live in." She kicked a stone ahead of them with her foot. "Then lights would be the next thing on the list." She thought some more, "seeds to plant for food would also be nice. . . although we do have plenty of meat."

Kinta was thinking out loud more than anything. She knew Colonel O'Neill was not in a position to promise anything. "Electrical wiring! I could sure use some of that. Then I could wire the solar panel to a light. Of course, we don't have light bulbs so that would be kind of useless wouldn't it." She chuckled lightly to herself. "Can't have a light without a bulb."

This continued on for some time while the SG-1 team just listened and smiled. In a way, Kinta just needed to voice her frustrations on the problems she saw ahead for her people. They were so dependant on technology that without it they were completely lost. If someone would have told her she'd be living in a cave, she'd have thought them crazy. But now, having a cave to live in was a luxury.

Finally, they reached the gate and Major Carter began dialing the address home.

"Now don't get any ideas about following us home." O'Neill warned.

"I know, you have an iris covering the gate on your side." Kinta had seen this as well as their entire complex in Cheyenne Mountain.

After entering their security code, they disappeared through the chappa'ai and were gone.

Kinta stood there for several minutes hoping that maybe they'd reconsider and come back but they didn't. She did, however, glean several useful gate addresses, from O'Neill's brain. Now they had several cultures with whom they could trade so it wasn't a total loss.

A few days later, Kinta returned to the gate to find two solar panels, wiring, and a couple of car batteries waiting there. She was elated.

**

* * *

**

SG-1 Season Six:

(Daniel Jackson has ascended and is replaced by Jonas Quinn)

Almost a year later . . .

As O'Neill and his team exited the Stargate he couldn't help but feel déjà vu. That's because they had been to this planet before only now they were under direct orders to bring Kinta back for an important mission.

Just like before, they traveled down the path which Teal'c noticed had received much more use than when they were previously there. Obviously the Caelurians were using the Stargate more.

When SG-1 came upon the village, they immediately noticed that it had grown in size and had a stone wall around it. He only hoped that Queen Penarddun was still in power.

Jonas, what is the welcome phrase again? O'Neill queried.

"_Deit mat oh_." He shook his head. It was only the 50th time he had told O'Neill. Thank God, Daniel Jackson had written it down in his notes because he was doubtful anyone else on the team would have remembered it.

O'Neill kept repeating the phrase in his head to try and remember it. When they arrived at the big hut, Queen Penarddun came walking out. O'Neill immediately raised his hand and spoke confidently, "_Deit mat oh_."

This made Queen Penarddun smile. She remembered O'Neill and the problems they had on their previous visit.

"O'Neill. It is good to see you again."

"Yes. It's good to see you as well. I see you've done some redecorating." He motioned to the wall.

The Queen smiled again proud of herself. "Yes, after you left, Kinta gave us several gate addresses to visit where we could trade. We were able to learn from these other civilizations and constructed a fort to keep us safe."

She showed them inside the new stone-walled great hut where they all were seated. "What brings you back here? I thought we would never see you again."

O'Neill began to explain their predicament. "Well, it seems we need Kinta's help with something and I'm hoping you might let us borrow her for a day or two."

Although she was not as desperate for technology as before, she was still interested in any help she could get to help them live a better life. "And what is in it for us, O'Neill? We still live a primitive life as you can see. What can you offer us?"

He smiled, "I think we can help you out with that." O'Neill had negotiated quite a few useful items for the Caelurian Queen which he thought would be useful. He was sure they could make a deal.

The Queen motioned a warrior over and sent him after Kinta. "I cannot speak for Kinta, but we can ask her if she would be interested."

It didn't take long for her to arrive as she came walking into the dark hut. Her eyes had not yet adjusted when she asked, _"What did you need my Queen?"_

She then noticed the SG-1 team sitting there. "O'Neill. What brings you here?"

"We would like to borrow you for a couple of days."

Kinta starred at him for a moment and did not speak. Then she stated, "You want me to heal someone that you greatly dislike."

She couldn't understand why he would want to do such a thing but sat down to hear more all the same.

"Yes." He should have known she'd read his mind as he continued, "We have a senator who funds our Stargate program and he's had a heart attack. He's demanded we bring you back to heal him or he will cut our funds which we really don't want him to do."

"I see." She offered no other response and sat there quietly.

Queen Penarddun then spoke in her native language, "_Kinta, they are promising to help us now. It is up to you but what exactly are they considering offering us?"_

Kinta leaned over and spoke softly to the Queen, _"It looks like they are more desperate and are willing to offer much more than before. I think we can get many useful things. The leader they wish to save is powerful and I believe it is through him that we really need to barter."_

"_Then I authorize you to barter on our behalf if you choose to do this." _The Queen instructed.

Kinta was curious to see their world but felt a reluctance to leave her people. "O'Neill, I am willing to visit your world and discuss this. But I make no promises."

O'Neill was satisfied with those terms. He was sure once they got her back to the SGC, they would be able to persuade her to help. "Fine, when can you leave?"

"I'll pack a bag and return shortly." She then stood and left.

"I think that went well." O'Neill stated. "We'll have her back to you shortly, I promise."

* * *

As Kinta descended the ramp at Stargate Command, she looked around curiously at everything like a young child in a candy store. This was amazing – she was really here.

O'Neill made the introduction, "General Hammond, this is Kinta. She's here to heal Senator Kinsey."

She quickly corrected him as she continued to look around, "I'm here to 'discuss' healing your Senator Kinsey."

She then turned all her attention to the General, "I understand you are in charge here."

"Yes, I am. I hope we can come to an agreement." General Hammond was expecting an older, more mature woman and was surprised to see such a young lady instead.

Assuming a more formal role, Kinta then offered a gift to General Hammond. "As a show of respect, I offer you gifts from my planet." She pulled out a fur taken from a saber-toothed tiger, "In our world, skins are very important to keep us warm. I'm sure you have no need of this, but we offer it just the same as a token of our appreciation."

General Hammond accepted it graciously. "Why thank you."

She then pulled out a rock from her bag. "I don't know if this will be useful or not, but I discovered many of these on our planet. This rock glows brightly in the dark all night long. It might be interesting to someone. We've started using these as lights." She offered it to General Hammond as well who in turn gave it to Major Carter.

After a small tour of Stargate Command, which Kinta had already seen in O'Neill's mind, she impatiently asked, "Shall we now negotiate?"

She was led into the conference room, that overlooked the gate room, and everyone was seated. O'Neill began listing the things they could give her that might be useful. But she surprised everyone when she announced, "I shall like to negotiate directly with Senator Kinsey. After all, it's his life that you are asking me to save."

General Hammond raised an eyebrow upon hearing her request. It looked like this young lady was more savvy at bartering than they thought. He only hoped her demands wouldn't be too elaborate. "Gentlemen, let's take her to the Infirmary to meet Senator Kinsey."

When they arrived, Dr. Frasier was working frantically to revive the Senator who seemed to be having yet another heart attack. Kinta, seeing the urgency of the situation, rushed over to him and placed her hands on his chest and head. She closed her eyes and concentrated for several seconds whereupon the Senator seemed to be brought back from the brink of death and regained consciousness.

"Senator, it would be unfortunate if you should expire before we can negotiate an agreement." Kinta smiled satisfactorily. "You are not fully healed, but I believe you are out of immediate danger of death. I shall like to begin talks with you directly for items that my people need."

Before he could answer, Dr. Frasier checked his vitals and spoke first, "Well, he's not going to be doing any negotiating today. He needs his rest." With that said, Kinta and General Hammond returned to the conference room.

"Perhaps you could give us a list of what you want so we can have a starting point for our negotiations," offered Hammond. "It might speed things along."

Kinta agreed and after a few minutes began writing things down on a pad of paper while General Hammond pulled Colonel O'Neill aside in the hallway. "That was amazing!"

"Yes General, she does have her moments." O'Neill remembered the slab and her antics at his expense.

"And you say she's telepathic too. I wonder if she's reading out minds." Hammond asked cautiously.

"I don't have to read your minds, I can hear you." Kinta smiled to herself as she never took her eyes off the list she was compiling.

"Good hearing too I see," chuckled Hammond. He noticed this girl had a little bit of fight in her and couldn't help but wonder how she'd do up against Kinsey.

* * *

Kinta spent the rest of the morning working on her list which had grown to several pages. Finally, she was taken to temporary quarters where she would be sleeping and where she could drop off her bag then General Hammond invited her to join him for lunch.

As they both sat down at a table with a tray of food, General Hammond inquired, "I see that you have quite a long list of things. Might I inquire what you had in mind."

"Sure." Kinta gave him the tablet to read. "I've been collecting things from people's thoughts that would seem to be useful to us."

"Hmmm. Solar panels, water filtration system, portable cook stoves, generators – I see nothing that we shouldn't be able to supply you with." He was pleasantly surprised that her list was quite reasonable.

"We've come to accept that we'll never regain our technology to the level we had before. Too many of us, with that knowledge, have died. So now, it's more about conveniences." She took a bite of her food before continuing. "I can tell you are a honorable man. Can you think of anything I might be forgetting?"

He finished looking through the pages. "I'd suggest some portable heaters, small farming equipment, and distilling equipment so you can make your own fuel for the generators and other equipment instead of relying on wind or water power to make them work."

Those seemed like good ideas and Kinta quickly added them to the list.

O'Neill came into the cafeteria and joined them. "So how is your list coming along?"

"Good," Kinta nodded as she ate hungrily. "I think I'll just have one chance to get these items so I'm trying to not forget anything."

Just then, O'Neill's cell phone dropped and fell onto the floor. "Damn it." He shook it in an effort to try and get it to power back up but with no luck.

"Can I try?" Kinta reached for the phone.

O'Neill was sure it was beyond hope so he complied, "Have at it."

After she took another bite of food, she pulled out a makeshift screwdriver and began taking the phone apart while Hammond and O'Neill watched. After looking it over, she commented, "A communication device I see. I use to be really good with these things." After adjusting several components, she put the phone back together and much to O'Neill's surprise, powered on the phone.

She tossed it back to him, "Here you go."

"That was cool," O'Neill acknowledged slowly. "How did you know to do that?"

After listening to an alien rendition of Major Carter, O'Neill held up his hand to stop her. "Okay, I get the idea. You really do know this technology stuff."

Kinta looked around the cafeteria at all the people enjoying their lunches. They seemed quite content to be there. "Do you think I could get a job here?"

She knew that was totally out of the blue and surprised even herself when she asked it. Kinta expected to sense their discomfort, but General Hammond just smiled, "Perhaps you had better add that to your list young lady."

Kinta smiled back. This was the first time she had felt good in a long time. Maybe they would consider having her work here and she could continue to supply her home world with needed items. Maybe integrating themselves in with a technologically advanced race was their only hope to free themselves from their situation. She hadn't considered that idea before but it sounded promising.

[**Music Recommendation:** Have a Nice Day by Bon Jovi]

The next morning Kinta awoke early and was waiting for her escort to Senator Kinsey's bedside. She anticipated that most of her requested items would be approved but wondered if Kinsey would accept her request to stay on this world for a little while and work with the Tau'ri. When she had healed him the day before, Kinta took advantage of the situation and quickly read his mind. She was able to determine that he was a untrustworthy man and could see why Colonel O'Neill didn't like him.

General Hammond arrived to take her to Senator Kinsey's bedside. "I've taken the liberty of presenting your list to the Senator so he can look it over. I hope that was okay."

"Fine, thank you."

When she arrived, the Senator was sitting up in bed and looked much better than the day before. He was wearing reading glasses and looking over her list of items.

"Senator Kinsey, this is Kinta." Hammond announced. "She's the one who saved you from death yesterday."

"Something which I am very grateful for. Thank you." He turned his attention back to her list, "I've been going over your requests and can definitely agree to all but one."

Kinta had a good guess what the one would be.

He looked up to face her, "Why do you want to join Stargate Command?"

Kinta smiled as she looked at her feet sheepishly. She was stalling so she could quickly read his mind and see what kind of answer he was expecting. But she couldn't tell.

"Well, it would certainly be something different to do." She looked over at General Hammond for any signs from him but he had a perfect poker face on so she continued, "I use to work with a lot of technology on my home planet before it was destroyed. I had a nice apartment, pretty clothes, and just about anything I could ask for."

She paused before continuing, "Now I live in a cave."

"I'm sure my technology is similar to yours and I might even be able to improve upon it a bit. I suspect you are always looking for new technology."

"That we are. But I doubt you could learn our systems quick enough to be of any real help. You understand." Kinsey's voice sounded somewhat demeaning, something that did not go unnoticed by Kinta or General Hammond.

In a similar demeaning manner, Kinta replied, "Actually, I already understand quite a lot Senator." As usual, she came right to the point. "You have maybe a year to live with your bad heart." Kinta then took a more stern tone as she continued. "I heal your heart, you give me one year to work here and show you what I can do. Otherwise, I walk out of here right now and I tell you to have a nice day."

She smiled as she slightly cocked her head to one side and though to herself 'touché'.

Kinsey's eyes widened. He hadn't expected such a young lady to be so determined and blunt in her demands. He felt his blood pressure rise a little.

"Six months. No more." Kinsey replied sternly.

"Agreed."

Kinta motioned for the Senator to lay back on the bed whereupon she placed one palm on his chest and one on his forehead. She closed her eyes, and let out a deep breath that she had been holding. In a few seconds, it was done.

The supplies were waiting in the gate room for Kinta to take back to her planet. She felt she had done well for her people and was sure the Queen would be happy. SG-6 was waiting to help transport everything to her village and then bring her back to the SGC.

Before he left, Senator Kinsey gave General Hammond a direct order. "Give her your lowest job and in six months I want her out of her." His disdain for her was evident as he added, "Do as I say and I just might fund your program for another year."

He straightened his tie then walked away without saying another word.

Although it was a bitter victory, Hammond at least had funding for one more year now thanks to Kinta's negotiations. It saddened him, however, that Kinta would not get the job she had hoped for.

He did agree that Kinta should be limited in her contact with other personnel due to the fact that she could read minds. They had far too many secrets to allow her much freedom.

* * *

That afternoon, General Hammond called Jonas Quinn into his office.

"Jonas, we have an off-world person, like yourself, who is going to be joining the SGC for six months. Her name is Kinta."

He opened a folder which contained a few notes on her. "I don't know if you've heard, but she's the one who healed Senator Kinsey this morning and unfortunately pissed him off at the same time." Hammond chuckled to himself, "Something about wishing him a nice day or whatever. Anyway, she can read minds so we want to keep her secluded a little from the rest of the personnel here due to the sensitive information we have. I was thinking about having her help you with translations. She seems to be familiar with technology similar to ours so I think she'll catch on quickly in that respect. Would you be willing to give her a try?"

Jonas was elated. While he enjoyed going on away missions with SG-1, he found the translation part to be rather tedious and was more than happy to pass that part on to someone else. "Sure, I'll put her to work."

"One thing though." Hammond added, "We can't let her name be put on anything because I suspect Senator Kinsey will be watching. So you sign off on all translations as though you did them yourself."

"Yeah, sure."

When Kinta returned, General Hammond informed her of his decision and why she was being placed in that particular job - her mind reading abilities were just too big of a security risk right now for him to put her anywhere else. He expected her to convey her disappointment and was pleasantly surprised when she didn't.

"General, I will sweep floors for you if you want. I know I have to prove myself and I'm not afraid to try anything, really." Kinta was just glad to be there.

Hammond liked her outlook. "Very well then. I'll take you to meet with Master Sergeant Walter Harriman and he will get you set up with everything you'll need."

"Great!"

Harriman gave her a tour of the recreational room, cafeteria, and pointed out the areas that would be off-limits to her. He also told her that if she had any questions, about anything, she should ask him or Jonas Quinn - no one else. Having been assigned permanent quarters and given some olive greens to wear, Kinta was introduced to Jonas Quinn and left in his care for the rest of the day.

"Hi. I can't tell you how glad I am to have your help," Jonas began. He shuffled some piles of objects from one table to another in order to clear a spot for them to work. "Basically I'll be bringing you objects we find on other planets, photos or my handwritten notes and I need you to try and decipher what they say." He pulled a couple of Dr. Jackson's books off the shelf and opened them up. "This book covers what we know of the Goa'uld language and the other one is on The Ancients language." He shyly commented, "We don't know that much on the Ancients yet. But you'll be using both of these a lot and adding to them in our database."

He then took her over to a computer and handed her a piece of paper. "Here is your login and your password." He showed her how to open the software and did a small translation as an example. "Think you can handle it?"

"Yeah, I got it."

"Just print off all your translations at the end of the day and leave them for me in this in-box. They have a form that prints as a cover sheet which I need to sign. Did Hammond tell you that we can't have your name show up on any of these?"

Kinta nodded yes.

"Good." Jonas looked around the room and focused on one particular table. "These artifacts over here are the oldest and probably need to be done first. Then move on to the next table and the next. When you finish each translation, take a digital photo of the item, to include with your translation," he pointed out the camera, "and pack the artifact in a crate like you see over here." He pulled her over to another section of the room where several empty crates sat on the floor. "And add plenty of stuffing so it doesn't break."

One of Kinta's first decisions was to get a 'Samantha Carter' haircut. Her long, medium blonde hair was usually braided or pulled back out of the way. The shorter hair was much easier to deal with and she noticed many of the girls had their hair cut that way. She also sought out Teal'c for fighting lessons, with permission from General Hammond of course. She knew it was a long shot, with him being a warrior he'd probably have little time for her like the warriors on her own planet. But as she had discovered, you never know until you ask. Teal'c was so impressed by her curiosity to learn new things that he also taught her his meditation technique of kel'no'reem, thinking it might help her focus more easily. Kinta quickly learned that kel'no'reem also seemed to bring visions to her more frequently although she tried to ignore them.

Kinta was up and running in no time at all and was quite adept at translating the languages. In fact, she seemed to have a knack for it. So much so that she finished all the work Quinn had in a very short time. Fearing if she had nothing to do they would ask her to leave, she began checking out other things to see how they worked – her computer was the first to come to mind.

As soon as Quinn left on an away mission, she shut the door and began dismantling the unit piece by piece to see how it went together. Once she was finished, she quickly put it back together so no one would know. Then, she went over and did the same thing with Quinn's laptop. She knew she could improve the speed of the machines so she approached Harriman to inquire about doing so but he was reluctant to let her proceed. So instead, she asked him about having access to a lab where she could make things in her off hours. Her own little inventions.

After Sgt. Harriman ran her request past General Hammond, he showed her a small room where she could work on her hobbies. She submitted requests for items to Harriman who then secured them and placed them in her makeshift lab.

Within weeks, she had designed a hard drive that utilized a data crystal which she duplicated from a broken one they had in stock. She was able to 'grow' one under pressure by using a broken crystal as a seed to start with. The amount of space on it was significantly larger than their current computers. The computer memory was also designed from a crystal and from there she began building her own little portable computer for her own use as well as upgrading her work and Quinn's laptop as well (unbeknown to him).

By the time her six months was up, she had mastered all the languages, including several Earth languages, and wrote several software programs, including one which would automatically do the translating simply by scanning the object into digital form and letting the software do the rest. It would also calculate possible words from the existing structure of the sentence and could therefore build on itself. Quinn was very impressed when she showed him.

* * *

As her six months drew to a close, Kinta approached General Hammond's office. She had been summoned and knowing her time was up figured she was going to be told the bad news.

She knocked lightly on the door. "You wanted to see me sir?" Kinta had developed quite an understanding of the military formalities and tried to use them when possible.

"Yes, please come in." He motioned for her to take a seat which she did.

"I guess you know that your six months is up?"

She nodded yes.

Hammond noticed the sad look come over her face. "And by the look on your face, I'm guessing that you're not reading my mind or you'd be smiling."

This quickly perked her interest.

"We'd like to extend your stay for another six months if that is okay with you?"

Kinta's smile told it all.

"Yes! I mean yes sir." She forced herself to calm down. "I'm making a big effort to not read anyone's mind while I'm here. It's hard but I'm really trying."

The General smiled at her efforts. "I'd like to have you start working on something else though. I've heard you've taken just about every piece of machinery we have apart and put it back together." Kinta's smile dimmed as she realized she had been caught but it returned when she sensed that Hammond was actually quite impressed.

"I'd like to put that to good use and see if you can backward design some weapons we've acquired. You'll basically be doing the same thing but on a more advanced scale and you'll have to draw out the schematics on a computer."

Hammond continued. "I'm also going to put you on a salary but it will be under a Earth name so you need to pick one. This will allow you to buy some things for your own personal use."

Kinta was already ahead of him on designing weapons and had built several, of her own design, which she planned to smuggle back to Caelur on her next visit. Since she had much to tell her Queen, she asked for several days to visit her home world and make sure everything was okay. Hammond approved it.

Kinta had been visiting her home world less and less frequently and knew it was unacceptable. She'd have to shape up. This was her little mission – to bring them technology and she had to stay up to the task.

* * *

**REVIEWS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED.**


	2. Chapter 2

**The High Priestess of Caelur - Continued**

* * *

The sun was shining bright overhead as Kinta left the Stargate. A flock of birds screeched in the far off trees as she took a deep breath – it felt good to be home. Before doing anything else, she unpacked a handgun that she had designed and put it into the holster she then buckled around her waist. Kinta had already decided that if Calum didn't like it, she'd just shoot him – there was no reason in her mind why they shouldn't be able to use advanced weapons to defend themselves. In fact, she felt it was a necessity after getting a glimpse of all the other bad aliens out in the universe.

She had a backpack full of items so her trek was slow but she ultimately reached the village. Her first destination was to see Queen, however, the guards did not immediately let her into the great hut where the Queen lived. It was several minutes before the Queen emerged.

"_Greetings my Queen. I have returned for a visit. I hope all is well." _Kinta looked around and everything looked to be fine.

"_Everything is fine child. Was there anything of urgency that you needed to discuss?"_ Kinta noticed that they had very few words to say between themselves as the months grew on and kept the conversation formal. She feared she was no longer needed by the Queen who had grown to manage the Caelurians on her own. Her position as a confidant was no longer needed.

"_I have been asked to stay for 6 more months." _Kinta explained. _"I am thinking of accepting unless you see a reason why I shouldn't." _

Although Kinta wanted desperately to stay, she knew she was still representing Caelur and the Queen. That was something to be respected. But this time, the Queen seemed to be able to read her mind instead.

"_Kinta, I can tell that you like it there. You should stay." _

This pleased Kinta who explained an idea she had been contemplating, _"I am thinking that instead of us trying to regain our technology, we should just join a race that already has it."_

The Queen nodded, _"I agree that we will never recover. But Kinta, I cannot leave these people. I am their leader and you know that the native Caelurians will never leave." _Seeing the disappointment in Kinta's face, the Queen placed her arm around Kinta's shoulders, in a motherly way, and lead her inside.

"_They have never known what we had so they cannot comprehend what we lost." _She motioned for Kinta to sit with her by the fire. _"Those of us that are left have either accepted our fate or moved on to other worlds. Perhaps it is time for you to move on as well."_

Kinta was shocked. _"But this is my home!"_

"_Is it really?"_ The Queen asked.

Kinta couldn't believe her ears. _"But . . ." _She was at a loss for words.

"_Have you any relation that survived?" _The Queen inquired.

Kinta slowly nodded no as she looked down at the ground. _"I was raised in an orphanage. My mother abandoned me there."_

The Queen was not aware of this fact and was taken aback by it's revelation. _"Then you are free to start a new life wherever you wish. You have an unbelievable opportunity available to you – take advantage of it child. You have a destiny somewhere other than here." _

Tears swelled up in Kinta's eyes. She felt like she was being abandoned yet again only this time it was by her Queen.

Queen Penarddun pulled her close to her. _"There, there child. We will always be here and you will always be welcomed._ She could see that Kinta was not yet ready to let go of the nest. _"When must you return to the Tau'ri?" _

Kinta wiped her eyes. _"Whenever I like. They have given me no deadline or anything._" She looked up at the Queen, _"I asked for more time so I could make sure everything was okay here and because I stayed away for so long."_

The Queen had an idea that might cheer Kinta up. _"Then come and attend Tegan's wedding. She is marrying Calum."_

Kinta couldn't believe what she was hearing as she choked back her tears. _"Why would she marry him? He's the most backward of all of them."_

Suddenly, Kinta understood. Tegan really wasn't King Bacauda's daughter but instead was conceived when the Queen had an affair and the suitor was still alive to contest. This could prove dangerous to Tegan succeeding the Queen when the time came. It was the Queen's plan to marry her to Calum, who she knew was the illegitimate son of King Bacauda, to solidify Tegan's place on the throne.

Kinta quickly looked away from the Queen who sensed that she had learned the truth. The Queen asked firmly, in English rather than their native tongue, "Kinta, what did you see!" But she already knew the answer as she ordered Kinta, "Some things are best left unsaid. Tegan does not know – would you want to be the one to take her father from her!"

Kinta swallowed hard as she shook her head no.

Queen Penarddun realized she was rather harsh with Kinta as she tried to explain, "Royalty do not get to pick their spouses. They are chosen for them to solidify agreements and unite kingdoms. Sometimes they eventually fall in love . . . sometimes they never do." Her voice softened, "Sometimes they never do and you fall in love with someone else, but it's a forbidden love that can never be." She looked at Kinta. "And sometimes you think you're in love only to find out it was a ruse."

Kinta suddenly realized that the Queen had been in love only to have her heart broken. To make matters worst, she had become pregnant with her lover's child. Had the King found out, he would have thrown her out and divorced her or worst, had her and the child killed. If anyone found out now, it could undermine her leadership of the tribe.

"_I won't tell anyone, I promise."_ Kinta replied softly.

"_Then be happy for Tegan and Calum and come celebrate with us."_

She agreed and followed the Queen to where the festivities were being held. There were tables laid out with every kind of food and drink while many people danced to the music that was playing. Several of the neighboring tribes had come to celebrate as well, a sign that the old grudges were becoming obsolete.

After the vows were taken, mock fights were held in the bride and grooms honor and more food was made available on the tables. Again, music and dancing prevailed. Everyone was having such a joyous time, they did not notice the three saber-toothed tigers hiding at the edge of the village. They had climbed a tree and crossed over the wall where they now hid behind a pile of firewood stacked up for the upcoming cold winter. They could smell the food and watched quietly as the children ran around playing and dancing while they waited patiently for them to come closer into range.

When they struck, it was swift. One had taken down a child, which he began dragging away, while the other two chased the remaining screaming children into the heart of the festivities. Without hesitation, Kinta drew her weapon and fired killing the two tigers instantly while the warriors chased the third who was able to flee with his prize.

As mothers grabbed their crying children, the men turned and starred at Kinta still holding the laser pistol in her hand.

Calum came forward, unsure how to proceed. He knew Kinta was close to the Queen but she had violated their rules. _"Why have you turned away from our ways child?"_ He questioned helplessly. _"I have no choice but to enforce the challenge."_

But Kinta wasn't going to go quietly as she pronounced to the crowd, _"Your ways are obsolete and old. Do you even realize how easily this entire village could be destroyed with such weapons yet you still do not arm yourselves." _She picked up a rock._ "You prefer to throw stones instead," _she showed them the stone then tossed it at Calum's feet to illustrate her point._ "There are terrible enemies beyond the __chappa'ai who will have little respect for 'your ways'."_ She holstered her gun and made hand gestures to emphasize 'your ways' which Calum and the crowd did not like.

"_Be respectful child!"_ Calum's voice boomed. _"I will not tolerate you mocking our laws!"_

Queen Penarddun watched helplessly from the sidelines as she drew Tegan close to her. She feared the worst for Kinta.

Kinta drew in a deep breath and released it. _"I am sorry. I only wanted to stop the tigers before they killed another child." _She then got a new burst of energy as she tried to justify her actions. _"But I killed two tigers in seconds which would have taken your warriors several minutes. Does that not show you that these are good weapons?"_

Some of the men quietly agreed with her, but Calum would not bend.

"_Choose your challenger girl!"_ Calum pointed to Kinta to make his point. She would have to fight but he would at least give her the choice of who to fight.

Kinta thought for a moment. She knew her argument was valid – the Goa'uld could easily overtake their planet but Calum was so set in his ways it angered her to death. Then she had an idea.

"_I have served our Goddess Medb for many years as you all know. I put the challenge before her!" _She stabbed her finger into the air to make her point._ "If I win, you will allow such weapons for our people to use." _Her eyes showed her determination as she made her announcement, _"I choose Calum as my challenger!"_

[**Music Recommendation**: The Quest of Culhwch by David Arkenstone]

A hush came over the crowd as Calum shook his head. He had offered her a way out by allowing her to choose a weak challenger but instead, she chose the strongest warrior in the village.

"_You will not win child."_ He quietly stated.

Kinta knew that Calum would fight vigorously to defend the ways of the tribe. He would not take this challenge lightly and would come at her with everything he had. She only hoped that the training she received from Teal'c would help her now.

"_I am ready."_

Kinta and Calum proceeded to the ring of stones as the crowd circled them to watch. Kinta removed her weapon as Aengus brought a sword for Kinta to use, _"It has served me well, perhaps it will do the same for you."_

Everyone expected to see a slaughter but as soon as the gong was struck, Kinta immediately advanced with several blows which met Calum's sword. Sparks flew as they continued to strike at each other which drew shouts from the crowd. Shouts that neither contestant heard. Kinta circled Calum and tried several different moves but each time Calum matched her and struck back. Then Calum changed tactics and went on the offensive. It was now Kinta who had to deflect his blows. She had to take several steps back and tripped as he advanced on her. She quickly recovered and feared she may have made a mistake, but then a calmness came over her and everything seemed to slow down. Kinta was in his head.

She could see what each of his moves was going to be as though they were in slow motion and she had plenty of time to react. Kinta was able to regain the distance she formerly lost and pushed him back to the center of the ring. The fight became a choreographed dance between the two fighters and it felt good. Never had she felt such a rush of adrenaline as a smile came over her face.

The crowd was going crazy at the spectacle before them, even the Queen was moved to excitement. Bets were made on the sidelines as the fighting showed no signs of ending soon.

Calum quickly realized she was a formidable opponent and that she was going to make him work for it. But he would not be deterred – the rules were at stake. Once their swords were locked together, he came in close and elbowed her across the face knocking her into the sidelines. Kinta quickly knew that hand to hand combat would be her weakness as she wiped the blood away from her face. She couldn't let him in close.

As she entered the ring, he again tried to lock swords but Kinta evaded him by backing up. She had to rethink her strategy. Speed was her strength but how could it help her now. They circled each other and Calum made another attempt. He locked their swords together and came in close ready to elbow her again when she did an about face and twirled backward around him to where his back was now facing her as she swung the sword against his body slashing a gash. The blood began to trickle down his back from the wound she had left. He immediately turned around and faced her again as his comrades shouted to urge him on. He tried his strategy again only this time, he grabbed her arm with his free hand to prevent her from skirting around him. Kinta in turn raised the butt of her sword and thrust it into Calum's face bringing forth blood from his nose. She was able to break free from his grasp and distanced herself from his sword.

This exchange continued many times until Calum tried a different approach and as their swords joined at the hilt, he used his free hand to punch her square in the face knocking her down to the ground. Kinta was motionless for a few seconds while she gathered her senses. It was a hard blow but she wasn't ready to give up. She stumbled back to her feet and raised her sword ready to resume the fight. Calum couldn't believe it. Kinta continued on.

He came at her again as their swords joined with a clang each time they struck. Calum had grown tired of their dance and wanted it to end. He swung several hard blows at her which she had no strength to withstand. Each blow forced her back a step towards the edge of the ring. He struck another blow and came forward joining their swords but before he could get close, Kinta kicked him in the chest with her foot pushing him backward. This succeeded in knocking the wind out of him a little but didn't slow him down. Kinta couldn't resist chiding him a little, _"Had enough yet?"_

The crowd went wild and Calum could see several people were siding with the girl. He couldn't believe such a petite girl could put him in such a position. He again resumed a fighting stance as did Kinta and they circled each other in the ring. Both were exhausted but neither was willing to concede defeat. Calum again made the first move and swung at her several times some striking their mark and others missing. Kinta succeeded in dodging the hardest blows when suddenly, she saw an opportunity and thrust her sword deep into Calum's side.

The crowd became silent as Calum looked down at the crimson stain growing on his tunic. His sword fell from his hand as he slowly crumbled to his knees and fell onto the ground. Kinta looked over at the Queen and realized what she had just done – she had just stolen Tegan's chance to rule without question.

Before she could give it any thought, Kinta dropped her weapon and rushed to his side where she immediately placed one hand on his chest and the other on his head. She looked to the sky as she closed her eyes and proclaimed, _"No, it is not his time! I'm sorry!"_

Using every bit of strength she had left, Kinta focused on healing him even if it meant her own death must occur. Calum would not die. The townspeople looked on in amazement as his eyes opened and he gave a little cough. His breathing improved and he sat up. He wiped the blood away from his side revealing no wound and felt his back which also had stopped hurting. No one knew what to do as Calum stood up before them. It was a miracle.

Calum looked at Kinta and was about to ask her how she had done such a feat when she collapsed onto the ground.

"_Quickly, take her inside!" _Calum commanded.

Everyone had expected her to quickly recover, since she had no life threatening wounds of her own, but she lay unconscious in a coma for the remainder of the night. By the next morning, Queen Penarddun was becoming worried.

"_She should have woke by now Calum. Her wounds are not serious enough to cause this." _

Calum agreed. Many of the warriors approached him asking how the girl was doing. He just shook his head. _"It does not look good."_

Quinn made an observation, _"Perhaps she has angered the Gods."_

"_No! _Calum would not let her be discredited from the win she had earned. _"The Gods honor her do doubt. She fought a good fight. Better than any Aedian could."_ The last comment was added as an insult to Quinn and his Aedin comrades. Apparently Calum had forgotten that Kinta was an Aedian as well.

By late afternoon, it was evident that Kinta would most likely die. Calum was surprised as villagers began showing up with gifts left there to honor her. She had truly touched their hearts by winning the fight. He too would leave her a gift that could never be taken away.

Many warriors stood guard over Kinta's body throughout the night. No one spoke, as there was no need for words - everyone was worried.

The next morning, Queen Penarddun again checked in on Kinta. She placed her hand in Kinta's and pleaded, _"Please child, wake up. Do not die."_

Kinta's eyes fluttered and then opened. _"What happened?"_

The Queen was elated as she yelled for the others. _"She is awake!"_

Calum, and several other warriors, encircled her bed while Kinta tried to shake the disorientation from her being. _"Where am I?"_

"_You are in my hut Kinta. We were worried about you."_ The Queen's smile showed how relieved she was that Kinta was okay.

Kinta lifted the blanket to discover that she had been undressed. She looked at her arms where tattoos now ordained them. Only warriors had such tattoos and she didn't know what to think. She looked over to Calum who explained.

"_You now carry the mark of the warrior. You have earned it." _He allowed himself a smile. _"We took the liberty of adding additional symbols of strength in the hopes they would help you through the journey you were taking and guide you back to us."_

Kinta nodded as she tried to keep the tears from her eyes. _"They must have helped for I am here." _She had indeed been on a journey. While unconscious, she had envisioned herself in a strange land fighting to find her way home.

Queen Penarddun then rose and began chasing the men out of the room. _"Leave her so she may get dressed and join us for food and drink."_

The men understood. She must be hungry since she hadn't eaten for two days. They left her alone with the Queen.

Kinta looked at all the items laying around her and the Queen explained, _"They are gifts to honor you Kinta. All of this is yours."_

Kinta sat up and pulled the blanket around her for warmth. She looked at the fine clothing that had been left for her. These were truly items fit for a Queen yet the Queen said they belonged to her. She chose those which looked more durable for fighting and got dressed as she looked in awe at the many markings that now covered her body.

"_Calum wanted to make sure that the Gods knew you were a warrior should you leave us. He had his best artists perform the marking."_ She didn't know if Kinta truly understood the honor Calum had bestowed on her. _"Kinta, women are not adorned with such markings. These are the highest markings a warrior can wear. You are one of them now. You are truly a Caelurian_ _warrior."_

Kinta nodded that she understood but was still a little groggy as to what had happened to bring about such an honor. She spotted an oval Jade stone threaded onto a leather strap as a necklace. There were several engravings on it which she liked so she put it on. With the Queen's help, she stood up and almost collapsed again but ultimately regained the strength in her legs. She waited several minutes before attempting to walk. Once she could stand on her own, she went outside to a waiting crowd.

The warmth of the sun felt good on her face as she looked up to the heavens. _"It is good to be alive,"_ She whispered to herself. Feeling stronger, she walked over to a bowl of water intending to wash her face but found herself staring at her reflection instead. She smiled at the design that someone had painted on her swollen and bruised cheek. After washing her hands only, she sat down at a table where food was served to her.

Many of the warriors joined her as she ate hungrily.

"_Kinta, you were unconscious for so long. Did you go on a journey?"_ Aengus asked curiously.

"_Aye, I did."_ She was surprised. _"How did you know?"_

Calum responded before Aengus could. _"Many of us have seen strange things when we are struck down. It is not uncommon."_

Aengus couldn't contain his curiosity any longer. _"So where did you go?"_

She shook her head not understanding what she had seen. _"I was so very far from home. . . and the Tau'ri were there. I'm not sure but I think I went there to save them."_ Kinta looked up at Calum. _"They were in a huge ship and lost."_

"_Perhaps that is your destiny."_ Calum shook his head in understanding.

Later, after leaving the items she had brought, which included several laser hand guns, Kinta bid them farewell and returned to the Stargate. She wanted to seek out Teal'c when she got back and learn hand to hand combat. She'd be needing it.

* * *

**SG-1 Season 7: **(Daniel Jackson returns and Jonas Quinn leaves)

**Jump to Heroes (Part 1 & 2)**

Kinta was well into her new job of backward designing weapons that the SG teams brought back and was currently working on a Zak purely for her own interest. She had taken an Earth name, as General Hammond suggested, of Mary Greer but rarely used it.

Although she tried her best not to read people's minds, she found that to be a very difficult task to accomplish. She seemed to do it on a subconscious level whether she wanted to or not and ultimately gave up trying. Kinta had discovered that the SGC had a database of several Stargate addresses which they planned to visit as time permitted. There were many more that had already been visited and what they found was recorded. Somehow she just couldn't resist doing a little hacking and looked over the vast database. It was amazing that so many gates should exist throughout the universe. Her main focus, however, was to search for technology like the Tau'ri. By day, she was a designer, by night, she searched several computers for any information she could find. She just knew it would come in handy someday but she had no idea how.

On one particular morning, rock music was blasting through the speakers as General Hammond walked into Kinta's office. "Kinta."

She almost jumped out of her chair. "Oh. General Hammond. I didn't hear you come in." She blushed slightly at being caught off guard and immediately turned down the music.

He smiled but got straight to the point. "There is going to be a film crew on site filming a documentary for a few days so I want you to keep your head down."

Kinta knew the drill – stay out of sight.

"Now, if this film crew finds out who you are, they'll be on you like a tick on a hound dog, so stick to your Earth name like before." Hammond added for good measure, "Oh, and Robert Kinsey may show up so that is another good reason to stay out of sight."

"No problem, Sir. I've got plenty to do here and I'll just keep my door closed for good measure." Kinta replied.

"Good."

General Hammond thought it was bad enough that he had to deal with outsiders. He didn't want to give them anything the President didn't specify.

Kinta wasn't too worried. Nobody ever came into her part of the facility so she figured she was safe. She looked at her watch and realized she was suppose to report to Dr. Frasier for blood tests. After shutting down her music, she ran down the hallway to the Infirmary.

"Dr. Frasier, sorry I'm late. I lost track of time." Kinta explained while catching her breath.

"Kinta. I'm glad you're here." Dr. Frasier led her over to a gurney and motioned for her to sit down.

"We collect blood samples on all our personnel for DNA and to screen for strange things we need to know about." She explained as she opened Kinta's medical file. "And while I was going through my files, I realized we never got a blood sample from you so I just need to collect a sample to make sure everything is okay."

Kinta didn't mind as Dr. Frasier pulled out a syringe and inserted it in her arm.

"Now the test will take a couple of days to get the results back and I'll let you know if there are any problems." She finished drawing the blood and smiled. "That's it."

Kinta was pleasantly surprised. She expected a long drawn out medical procedure and was relieved that it was only a two minute task.

Two days later, Dr. Frasier was giving an interview while she went through the various lab results. She would look over each report and then initial it as reviewed and move on to the next one. If there was a problem, she would put it in a separate stack to be signed later after discussing the details with the patient. It was pretty basic stuff and the interviewer just wanted some footage of her doing her daily routine. As she looked over the test results for Kinta, her eyes widened. The test clearly showed that Kinta was an Ancient. Frasier couldn't believe her eyes but didn't want to give any indication that something fantastic had just happened so she signed off on it like the rest and laid the folder aside continuing on to the next one.

After finishing her interview, Janet Frasier joined the filmmaker, Emmett Bregman, for some lunch. He was pleasant enough and she actually found him quite charming. While in the lunchroom, she noticed Kinta helping herself to some food and wondered if she was even aware of her status. Frasier wouldn't say anything until she had run the results by General Hammond first but having a real life Ancient at their disposal could be immensely helpful.

Kinta was visiting the lunchroom after lunch hours, when she saw Dr. Frasier talking to a stranger. It didn't take much to figure out he must be with the film crew. Kinta hurried and got her food and left with the tray. She didn't want to draw any attention to herself. Little did she know it would be the last time she'd see Dr. Frasier alive.

An airman held the door open for Kinta as he entered the cafeteria and she left. He then sought out Dr. Frasier, "Excuse me Ma'am, you're required in the Red room immediately."

"Thank you." Dr. Frasier wiped her mouth with a napkin and then apologized to her guest as she left the table. "Sorry."

As Dr. Frasier soon learned, there were casualties on P3X-666 that needed her help. Without question, she changed into her field gear and gathered the essentials she would need to do her job.

Her time on the planet was short before the blast from a Jaffa staff weapon ended her life. Daniel and another medical technician managed to get Airman Wells loaded for transport back to the base. Wells was still in critical condition as he was rushed to the Infirmary where the doctors deemed his injuries as life-threatening. Doctor Frasier's body followed soon afterward.

When General Hammond received word of serious injuries, he immediately sent for Kinta. Normally, he would not have used her healing abilities, but this was an unusual circumstance.

As Kinta hurried down the hallway to the Infirmary, Hammond joined her. "Kinta, we have several wounded including Colonel O'Neill and Doctor Frasier. Do what you can."

She was shown immediately to an unconscious Colonel O'Neill. After placing her hands on him, she shook her head, "No, he's not dying. Get me to the worst one's first." She saw Airman Wells laying in the next gurney as doctors worked on him. Kinta pushed a doctor aside and immediately closed her eyes as she placed her hands on him. The doctor started to protest when he saw her results before his eyes. The bleeding stopped and the damaged area began to heal itself. Kinta went to each injured person assessing whether their injuries were life threatening and those that were, she healed to the point where they would survive so she wouldn't tire too quickly. She knew her limits.

When Doctor Frasier's body arrived, she decided to try and see if she could heal the doctor as well. Kinta had never tried to bring a dead person back to life but she had become good friends with Doctor Frasier and didn't want to see her die. As Kinta laid her hands on the doctor's chest and head, she tried desperately to bring life back into the limp body. Everyone began circling around hoping that she would be successful including General Hammond. The doctors hooked Frasier up to wires in the hopes of finding some life still in her but her brain waves were straight-lined. Kinta knew it was no hope as she stepped backward from the gurney. She turned and faced General Hammond preparing to tell him the bad news when her body went limp and collapsed onto the floor. The doctors had to abandon their efforts on their friend and turned to Kinta. She was placed onto a gurney and became their last patient.

Later, after all the nurses heard the bad news, Nurse Cooper was trying to stay busy and not dwell on the tragedy that had happened that day. She quietly went through the doctor's lab results and grabbed all those that were signed and began filing them. She was almost finished when she broke down in tears.

* * *

Many weeks later, General Hammond received the news from President Hayes directly, that he would be replaced at Stargate Command by Dr. Elizabeth Weir. Hayes explained the situation regarding Kinsey and asked for Hammond's help. He needed to buy time until he could force Kinsey from office and save the Stargate program. Stargate Command would be shut down for a three-month review process while political opponents battled over possession of the program. After that, Hayes wanted Hammond in Washington to assist him with what he knew would be his most difficult assignment. Hammond agreed.

With Stargate Command officially closed, General Hammond had no choice but to send Kinta home to Caelur.

Kinta made good use of her time back home. She added many luxuries to her cave and dug out a makeshift lab through one of the tunnels where she could continue her work. Calum and the rest of the warriors accepted the new weapons she brought them, but rarely used them. Kinta felt no offense by their reluctance and mainly stayed to herself.

She did join the men occasionally on hunting parties where she would sometimes show them a new weapon. On one occasion she showed them a dart gun as she called it. The gun was actually a tubular stick as long as a sword and in true Kinta fashion, she carved several Caelurian symbols on the side of words believed to give the user added ability. Words such as keen vision, strength, success, and good hunting were thought to pass to the user as he used the weapon. Many of the warriors would adorn their weapons in such a way.

Having learned about the different plants on her planet and their usefulness, Kinta found one that was an excellent, fast acting, poison which could be used to coat the tips of darts used in the dart gun. Since it did not use any technology in it's design, Kinta felt Calum might welcome it more readily.

After an unsuccessful day of hunting, the group sat around the fire warming themselves when Kinta pulled out the weapon to show them.

"_Calum, I designed a new weapon I'd like to show you."_

Looking at the stick, Calum smiled broadly, _"A stick, how impressive."_ The others laughed as well at the joke as did Kinta who didn't realize the humor until then.

After their laughter died down, Kinta continued, _"I'm serious though, this is more than a stick."_ Seeing their reluctance, she showed them. _"It is a simple dart gun. You put a poison coated dart in here,"_ she illustrated by inserting a small thorn like dart. _"Then you blow hard to send the dart to it's mark."_ She saw a rodent running around by the edge of their camp and pointed to it. Raising the stick, she aimed and gave a sudden blow sending the dart flying where it hit it's target paralyzing and killing the animal immediately.

Seeing no immediate reaction from the group, she added, _"It can also be used to beat the animal to death."_ They laughed as she mimicked hitting an animal over the head.

Calum seemed quite impressed as he reached for the weapon. _"It is light and easy to carry."_ He nodded his approval. _"This could be useful in taking out guards when sneaking up on an enemy with little cover to conceal ourselves."_

It felt good to hear Calum praise her. Kinta then began explaining how she made it so the other's could make their own if they were so inclined.

* * *

Kinta knelt down onto the floor of her cave and removed several glowing pebbles from the leather pouch she kept them in. She had inscribed an Ancient letter on one side of the stone and a Caelurian letter on the other. After placing the stones in a large circle, she sat down in the middle and crossed her legs. Although Teal'c preferred candles when he performed kel'no'reem, Kinta found her stones to be just as useful. In the past several years, since Teal'c had taught her the technique, Kinta's visions had become more prevalent and clearer during the meditation. She hoped they would offer her an answer to the strange dreams she had been having.

As she cleared her mind, Kinta heard thunder off in the distance making her feel safe and secure in her warm cave. It wasn't long before a surreal feeling came over her. Kinta's dreams kept showing her dialing a strange gate address and walking through the chappa'ai. This address was not known to the Tau'ri, as far as she knew, but when Kinta had tried dialing it, she discovered it was an active gate - so the address was real. She'd been working for months on a small insect-like robot to send through ahead of her and see what was on the other side. It was finally finished and ready to be used when she decided to consult her visions one more time.

What troubled her about this dream was that after Kinta entered the gate, she found herself in an open field in the middle of a rain storm with lightening and thunder everywhere. It was dark and cold with no shelter nearby. Kinta kept hearing moans of pain coming from the darkness but when she went to explore, no one was found. In her mind, this looked like the underworld, what the Tau'ri called Hell, and she was lost there.

Kinta's breaths slowed down and became deeper as she entered kel'no'reem. Images began appearing to her in flashes – just bits and pieces that offered no explanation. She needed to slow things down. A face suddenly appeared of a man with brown, shoulder length hair. He looked to be in his mid 40's. She focused on the man and refused to let the image leave her grasp. She suddenly started seeing the man's life play out before her and was surprised when he arrived at Stargate Command. Kinta couldn't tell if this was a past event or future. She then found herself in a dark hallway with smaller hallways branching out from it much like limbs branch out from a tree. She was frustrated that she had lost the image of the man and began walking down the main passageway when she saw another flash of images. The man was crying – someone had died. She could feel his emotion and knew that he deeply blamed himself. Kinta felt that suicide might have been the cause or possibly disease – she wasn't sure. Whatever it was, he was crushed.

Seeing a branching hallway, Kinta turned down it and saw the same man distraught, sitting on a couch with empty liquor bottles scattered around. There was a loaded pistol laying on the coffee table before him. Kinta watched as he picked up the weapon and with tears streaming down his face, pointed it at the side of his head. A large clap of thunder rang out as Kinta retreated back to the main hallway. She didn't want to see the ultimate outcome.

Kinta proceeded further down the main passageway and again saw the man, only this time he seemed preoccupied with his work, taking little time to sleep or eat. Kinta was happy to see he was still alive. This was the strangest vision she had ever had but Kinta felt compelled to see what lay ahead as she pressed onward. Suddenly, she came to a fork in the passageway forcing her to choose. She didn't know which one to take so she chose the one on the right and proceeded on.

Kinta walked into a gate room where everyone was huddled as bomb blasts could be heard over head. They were under attack. Kinta spotted the man and walked over to him. She stood next to him as he dialed a planet she recognized from the Tau'ri database. After the gate connected, everyone rushed through to safety. As she proceeded on this path, Kinta realized the man became defeated and ultimately gave up having missed the opportunity he so desired. Apparently the path he sought was no longer available. He clearly regretted his decision to gate to that particular planet. Kinta somehow knew the man's life was greatly shortened and didn't want to walk down that passageway any further so she turned around and returned the way she came. She quickly realized that the return trip back to the fork was much shorter and decided to take the remaining passageway on the left.

It started out much the same as the last one with the stranger dialing a gate address for the people to flee through. Only this time, Kinta realized he was dialing a different address. She was shocked when he entered 8 symbols and then ultimately 9.

Kinta began to realize that she had been walking down the path of this man's destiny and how easy it was to take the wrong turn. She continued onward and saw the crowd in an alien ship – everyone seemed to be disoriented and confused. Kinta recognized this ship. It was the journey she had taken when she healed Calum years before. Kinta quickly realized that this was where their paths would cross. But why would she be way out there so far from home? She had no intention of leaving her people and going to help the Tau'ri. If they had been closer, she might consider rescuing them, but they were too far away. She looked at the man she'd been following – he never smiled, but still seemed determined. Kinta figured he was a scientist. Surely, he would figure out a way to save them all – the Tau'ri seemed to have a knack for that. Why would they need her?

Kinta had seen enough and returned up the hallway she had walked. Ahead she saw an open Stargate and walked through it expecting her vision to end but instead, she arrived at an ancient underground facility. There was writing on all the walls as she walked around. Kinta spotted a console and went over to it. The writing was Ancient and she recognized what it said. Pressing a button, the facility lit up and Kinta could finally see the scope of the building – it was huge.

She began to realize that her time spent on Earth had prepared her for being there. This was her path and perhaps she too would come to a fork in the road where she would have to choose. But for now, she had to go to this planet and see what was there. Kinta used the console to dial her home planet and walked through the gate whereupon she realized she was sitting on the floor of her bedroom.

Energized by the prospect of learning what the Ancients had left behind, Kinta began preparing for her trip.

* * *

**Skip to SG-1 Season 9: **(Brigadier General Jack O'Neill departs, Major General Hank Landry takes command, Dr. Carolyn Lam heads the Infirmary, Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell joins the SG-1 team as their new leader.

Dr. Carolyn Lam was busy in the Infirmary looking over reports and basically getting familiar with what her new job would entail. She was still angered over the thought that her father had requested she be transferred there. Actually, furious was more like it.

She'd follow his orders, since he was her commanding officer, but anything other than that was out of the question. The way she saw it, he made his choice long ago to leave her and her mother behind. How dare he ask for a second chance now.

General Landry was waiting in the conference room when SG-1 arrived. On the table was a weapon of unknown origin with Ancient symbols inscribed on the side. It immediately caught everyone's attention.

Daniel Jackson was the first to pick it up. "Where did this come from?" He looked at the symbols and began translating, "Destiny awaits."

He thought for a moment as he contemplated what the Ancients had in mind. "Okay," he slowly responded.

"That's exactly why I called you in here." Landry retorted sharply. "This weapon was retrieved on P8F-809 where SG-2 had a run-in with the Goa'uld. It was taken off a dead Jaffa."

Landry flipped open the folder before him. "Area 51 started to backward engineer it and guess what they found when they took it apart?"

The team starred at Landry with blank expressions, not having a clue.

Landry answered his own question. "Parts with serial numbers traced back to Stargate Command."

Quite a few eyebrows raised and Carter couldn't believe what the General was saying. "How can our parts wind up in an Ancient weapon?"

"That is what all of you are going to find out!" Landry smiled wickedly, glad that someone else asked the question on his and the (National Intelligence Division) NID's mind.

The weapon was taken to a lab where Carter began disassembling it. Colonel Mitchell later joined her to see what she had found.

"This is amazing, Sir." Carter was clearly baffled and impressed at the same time. "This weapon has an energy source I've never seen before and the design seems to match the Ancient's technology."

Mitchell had to chuckle at her revelation, "Well, I don't remember any Ancients requisitioning any parts from us." He picked up one of the parts in question and looked at it. "Doesn't this look like part of the mechanism that closes the door leading into the gate room?"

Carter took the piece from him and looked it over. Suddenly, she walked down the hallway to Sgt. Siler. "Hey Siler, do you know what this goes to?" She tossed the piece over to him.

One look and he knew exactly what it was. "Yeah, it locks the gears that open and close the safety doors." He tossed it back unimpressed.

"Thanks."

Carter and Mitchell returned to the lab where Carter looked over the other parts in question as well. She then recognized another part. "This is a small hydraulic spring. I've used these before in lots of things." It was clearly a puzzle.

"Well, instead of looking at the parts we do know. How about we look at the one's we don't recognize," Mitchell suggested since it was clearly evident the SGC was the source.

Carter agreed and began running tests on the power source and the casing that enclosed the weapon. Meanwhile, Daniel Jackson had found some more ancient writing inside which he was trying to decipher.

The next morning, Daniel came running into the lab as he exclaimed. "Kinta!"

He had to stop and catch his breath. "Kinta made the weapon."

"What?" Carter remembered Kinta but didn't think her capable of such a weapon. "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Daniel drew in another deep breath. "She wrote her name inside. She gave the gun to a Calum and inscribed some words of respect for him."

Carter then had an idea. She remembered the rock that Kinta had brought as a gift to General Hammond. They used it as a door stop thinking it had nothing but florescent properties. Searching through the lab, she located it and broke a small piece off. "Let's see if this matches our energy signature." She ground the stone up and prepared it for testing. An hour later, she had her answer – it matched.

It didn't take long to get the rest of SG-1 together with General Landry.

"So Colonel Carter, what did you find?" Landry asked with a scowl.

Samantha looked over at Daniel and began, "Well Sir, I believe the weapon was made here and then taken off world."

"By Who?" Landry knew they didn't have this kind of technology there.

Daniel answered him, "Kinta."

Landry's blank expression prompted Carter to offer more. "We had an alien girl named Kinta who healed Senator Kinsey in exchange for working here. General Hammond assigned her to Jonas Quinn to do translations--."

Daniel raised a finger as he nonchalantly added, "I was ascended at the time."

"And later we had her backward engineering weapons until it was moved to Area 51," Carter finished. "But these must be original designs because we never had anything like this."

"We think," Daniel contended. "That she was able to understand enough of the Ancients designs to alter them to meet her needs."

"And what needs are those Dr. Jackson?" Landry asked sharply.

Daniel smiled faintly as he answered him, "Rebuild her world and defend it."

Colonel Mitchell looked over to Vala and shrugged his shoulders, "Before my time." Vala nodded in agreement.

Realizing that there were several people who had not met Kinta, Daniel described her in more detail. "Kinta's home planet, or rather moon, was destroyed in a natural disaster and they had to relocate from the moon to the planet. They lost everything."

Carter joined in and added more. "We visited her planet on a routine mission and discovered that she could heal by touch and read minds. It wasn't until later when then Senator Kinsey had a heart attack that we were ordered to bring her back to heal him."

"She did, but not until negotiating a job here." Daniel explained. "When General Hammond was ordered to Washington, we sent Kinta home."

Landry had heard enough. "Colonel Mitchell, take your team and bring Kinta back. I think we need to have a little talk with her."

Somehow Mitchell knew it would come to that.

* * *

Kinta had designated the Ancient lab as P5X-636 since the gate address was similar to P3X and P4X-636. She had no idea how significant her find would be. This address was unknown to both the Goa'uld and Tau'ri.

Having packed provisions for several weeks, Kinta was planning a long stay while she explored. She discovered sleeping quarters, eating areas and a large laboratory with all the equipment she could ever want. Having chosen quarters to her liking, Kinta began accessing the database to see what she could find. It was very extensive and would take a long time to scan it all.

Once her food ran out, Kinta decided to search above ground to see what she could find. It took her awhile, but she finally found an exit. The terrain was a desert full of sand and nothing else for as far as the eye could see. It puzzled her why they would build a lab in such a deserted place. Having no choice, she returned to Caelur for more provisions and packed up her remaining belongings. She was moving to P5X-636.

On her way to the gate, Kinta stopped at the village to see the Queen.

"_My Queen, I've found a deserted Ancient lab with all types of technology. And what's really good is that nobody knows about it so I can explore freely."_

The Queen was happy for Kinta but one thing troubled her. _"Child, how will you ever find a husband at such a deserted place?"_

Kinta smiled at her concern. It was so motherly of her to think of Kinta in such a way. But she felt a husband was not in the cards for her. No vision had ever revealed it and no man seemed to show any interest in her. _"There is time yet for that 'after' I research the lab."_

Before she left, Kinta gave the queen a stone with the gate address inscribed on it. _"This is where you can find me."_

As the months passed, Kinta was able to make quite a few weapons which she brought back to Caelur. Many more were made and stockpiled should she need them. With the equipment she now had, Kinta was also able to make stronger swords, which impressed Calum, and began work on her latest invention – a light saber like she saw in the movie Star Wars. Teal'c had invited her one night to join him in watching the movie where their light sabers caught her eye. The idea never left her mind and what better place to make that inspiration come true. She also discovered that the planet she was on was racked by lightening storms through the night and the strikes were used to repower the facility. This interested her as well. Since she was going to be there for quite some time, Kinta had also made arrangements with Aengus to supply her with meat so she wouldn't have to come back so often. Little did she know how much she would come to cherish the few trips she did make.

She kept busy in the lab and utilizing material she had available, Kinta refined her dart gun by making it out of a light weight, yet extremely strong, metal instead of wood. She also made a laser cutter that resembled a mini light saber only it was ink-pen size. It later became her prototype for a full size model.

Kinta had been so engrossed in designing these items, she didn't realize her supply of meat had stopped. It was only after she pulled the last steak from the freezer that it occurred to her.

She muttered to herself as she dialed the gate home. "Aengus we had a deal. You better have a damn good reason for not following through."

[**Music Recommendation:** The Dragon's Breath by David Arkenstone]

As Kinta exited the gate on her home world, the reason became all too obvious as she stared in shock across the landscape.

"No!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. Her legs collapsed under her causing her to fall to her knees as she looked out upon the field surrounding the Stargate.

Kinta was appalled by what she saw. Wooden poles, 20 feet high, had been placed in the ground lining up in rows and stretching outward in every direction with a person impaled on each pole. A cross beam had been placed near the top to prevent the body from sliding down to the ground and being dragged away by the animals.

Kinta immediately recognized the blue dress on one of the corpses as belonging to her Queen and figured the white dressed person next to her must be Tegan. Her worst fears had just come true as she dropped everything and ran as fast as she could to the village. What she found was a pile of rocks – the village had been completely erased.

The next several days would be spent seeking survivors. Kinta traveled to all the villages she knew of and found the same thing . . . total destruction. Along the way Kinta found clues of what had happened. A dead Jaffa proved it had been a Goa'uld attack. Kinta's first thought was of revenge but eventually reason took over.

Knowing she needed food, Kinta hunted and dried a large quantity of meat to take back to the lab. The furs could be used for trading or to remind her of home. As she dialed the gate to her new home, she turned and took one last look at Caelur. Her eyes were sad with grief as she walked through the gate. Her life would never be the same again.

* * *

Time and scavenging birds had stripped all the flesh from the glistening white bones by the time SG-1 had arrived. But the effect was still as gruesome as when Kinta was there. The team looked in horror at the enormous amount of deaths.

"Oh my God." Carter gasped. "What happened?"

Teal'c pulled his gaze away to search the area. Suddenly, he knew the answer as he called the team over to where he was standing. "Over here." Before him, two stone slabs laid flat on the ground with inscriptions carved onto them indicating that Queen Penarddun and Princess Tegan lay below them. A Jaffa helmet served as a headstone. "The Goa'uld have been here." He stated.

Daniel immediately noticed something. "These stones are written in three languages: English, Ancient, and I'm guessing Caelurian." He looked at the rest of the team to see if they saw what he saw. When they stood silent, he continued, "Who would know all three of these languages?"

Carter immediately knew where he was going, "Kinta." She explained to Mitchell and Vala, "She was a translator when she was at the SGC." This meant Kinta had survived and performed the burial.

The original team immediately started heading down the path to the village while Colonel Mitchell and Vala tried to keep up.

"Be on the lookout for saber-toothed tigers." Carter warned. "They'll sneak right up on you before they strike."

"Did you say saber-toothed as in dinosaurs?" Mitchell asked cautiously as he turned his attention to scanning the brush.

Carter corrected him, "Actually saber-toothed tigers are mammals and came after the dinosaurs, Sir."

Once they had traveled quite some distance, Teal'c stopped and looked around. "The village should be right here."

As everyone looked around, it was evident that the village was no more. What had remained was now overgrown with trees.

"Didn't Kinta live up by the alter?" Daniel remembered.

"There's an alter here? Anything else we should know like is it adorned in gold or something?" Vala joked.

Daniel led the way up the hillside to the alter. It was in bad shape and any gold had been removed long ago. "Look around for a cave or something," Daniel ordered.

Splitting up, they looked around the hillside until Teal'c spotted a wooden door. "I believe this is where she lives."

Daniel cautiously opened the door and found it brightly illuminated inside. Kinta had used the glowing rocks as light bulbs and placed them strategically around the cave.

Carter commented, "This is nice," as they walked inside and looked around. Kinta had a large living room with a fireplace cut into the rock where a large crack served as a chimney. The kitchen was next with a large, heavy dining room table. In the back were several empty rooms which could be used as bedrooms and the empty lab was located up several stairs. Vala opened a door off the living room allowing hot steam to escape and rise up to the ceiling. She could see running water down several steps below and two small pools used for bathing no doubt.

"Well, I'm jealous. I've never had this nice of a place before." Vala quipped.

It was evident that Kinta was no longer there. Colonel Carter wrote a note and laid it on the table asking Kinta to contact them. The team returned to Stargate Command with the bad news.

Standing in the control room, General Landry noticed the team returned alone and went down to the gate room to inquire why.

Colonel Mitchell spoke in an unusually sober voice when he explained the situation. "It wasn't good, Sir. The Goa'uld wiped out the entire planet from the looks of it."

Although Kinta's survival was good, the amount of life extinguished seemed to outweigh that fact, "We think Kinta survived, but she's not living there anymore."

"Let's go to the conference room and you can brief me," Landry said quietly.

Daniel hooked up his video camera and played back the gruesome scene that had been left behind. Even Landry was touched by what he saw. As the camera panned around in a 360 degree circle, the bodies seemed endless.

Colonel Mitchell narrated some facts for the General's information. "This didn't happen recently, Sir. It's been awhile. You can see where flowers were planted at each pole. It takes time for them to grow."

"Fallen flowers." Daniel whispered to himself sadly.

"What was that Dr. Jackson?" Landry inquired.

Daniel revealed a story he had heard once which he had dismissed as unessential at the time. "When I was in college, our professor told the class a story of how the Scots believed a flower would grow where each soldier had fallen in battle. He called them Fallen Flowers." He paused as he watched the video. "I never realized the importance until now." The field showed the most horrendous act yet the flowers revealed a painted canvas which seemed to balance the ugliness and truly commemorated the fallen. Daniel felt it was a fitting monument.

The video then focused on the graves of Queen Penarddun and Princess Tegan which brought Daniel back to reality. "The grave stones are written in three languages of which one is English. We think Kinta did this because she's the only one who'd know all three of these languages."

Carter concurred. "This is the first time we've ever seen English used off-world in written form."

The video then jumped to Kinta's cave dwelling where Daniel shut it off.

"We'd like to check out P3Y-204, which is where we traced the metal to, and see if Kinta relocated there." Carter interjected.

"Good idea." Landry concurred.

The following day the team visited the planet and although the villagers knew Kinta, they had not seen her for quite some time. Many revealed that her world had been destroyed by the Goa'uld so SG-1 felt she had visited there after the attack and spoke of the destruction. They again left messages for her to contact the Tau'ri.

* * *

It had been several weeks since SG-1 tried to locate Kinta. No one was sure if she would ever get their message. Suddenly came the announcement. "Unscheduled gate activity."

General Landry was joined by SG-1, in the control room, where Sgt. Harriman announced, "No iris code, Sir."

Everyone knew it could be Kinta but it could also be an unknown enemy.

"Keep the iris closed, Walter." Landry ordered.

Suddenly, a thump could be heard and the gate shut down. Landry was startled by the sound and knew what it meant. He only hoped that a person had not tried to gate to their facility.

Colonel Carter ran some tests and a smile came over her face. "It's a rock from Kinta's planet."

"Go . . . Go. Bring her back." Landry motioned with his hands to shoo them onward. Shortly thereafter, Kinta was sitting in the conference room as General Landry entered, sat his cup of coffee down, and took a seat.

"We haven't met but I'm General Hank Landry. I'm overseeing the SGC now," he announced cheerfully.

Kinta shook his hand graciously and responded, "Nice to meet you, Sir. So why are you looking for me?"

"To the point, I like that." Landry motioned for Walter Harriman to set the weapon on the table.

"Hi Kinta, how's it going?" Walter asked as he set it down.

Kinta gave a wobbly hand gesture then a thumbs down. "Not so good right now, but getting better." She smiled slightly at Walter but then resumed her solemn look as they continued and Walter left the room.

Landry also got right to the point. "We found this weapon on a dead Jaffa. At first, we actually thought it was made by an Ancient, until we took it apart."

Kinta recognized the weapon and picked it up. She quickly saw that the power unit was removed and wondered if they didn't trust her. She held the gun fondly after seeing Calum's name inscribed on the top. "I'll trade you a better weapon for this one."

Everyone could see she was moved as she ran her fingers across Calum's name.

"We're hoping you'll come back to the SGC for awhile and show us how you made it."

Kinta was tired and really didn't want to stay there. She stood to indicate her desire to leave which prompted everyone else to rise in response. "I'll tell you what. I'll email you the plans plus several others tomorrow after I get back home."

Landry didn't want to let her leave and knew diplomacy was needed. "How about you stay here tonight and leave in the morning instead." He motioned to where Walter sat outside. "You can catch up on things with Walter and any other friends you may have here."

Although she didn't answer the General, her walking out to converse with Walter was a good sign. When she removed her coat, he knew she was staying and ordered Sgt. Harriman, "Walter, let's find Kinta a place to stay tonight as our guest."

The next morning Kinta returned to Caelur alone with the promise that she'd gather up several weapons and her computer in order to stay at Stargate Command for a few weeks. She was actually looking forward to having someone to talk to plus her music collection needed updating and she was sure the Tau'ri had some new stuff for her to check out.

As soon as Kinta exited the Caelurian gate, she immediately dialed the secret lab she'd been staying at and proceeded on to there. She didn't want to alert the Tau'ri of the location because she had a feeling she'd be pushed to the sidelines and not allowed access. Somehow it just felt right to keep it a secret.

After packing up several items, Kinta grabbed some weapons and retraced her steps back to the SGC where Walter showed her to some temporary quarters. "It's so good to have you back Kinta." Walter professed. "Maybe now you'll have a chance to show them what you can do."

During her previous stay, she and Walter had become good friends and she had confided her frustrations to him many times. In fact, it was Walter who introduced her to Sgt. Siler and several other soldiers of lower ranks which she hung out with. It was through these lower ranking soldiers that she was able to obtain parts to do her best work without having to go through a lot of red tape.

Kinta worked closely with Dr. Bill Lee this time and showed him several inventions she was working on. Their working relationship remained very formal until she showed him her 'Star Wars' light saber. Kinta fully expected him to think it silly and dismiss the item as useless. But when he showed a big interest, she knew he was okay.

As the formalities faded away, she finally got up the courage to ask Lee an important question, "Bill, have you ever heard of anything called Icarus?"

He shook his head no, "It doesn't come to mind. Why?"

Her hesitation was evident. "Well, I had a vision and that name came up along with an image of a man who I think is a scientist. I'd just like to meet him or at least know his real name."

"Well what does he look like?" Lee inquired wanting to help.

Kinta thought for a moment and then started looking Dr. Lee over. "He's about your height, kind of rough around the edges looking and has shoulder length brown hair."

"Like me!" Lee seemed elated.

Kinta chuckled, "Yeah, but it wasn't you." She realized her description was very vague and could fit just about anyone including Dr. Lee.

"Well, I can ask around and see what I can find out." Lee definitely had a warped sense of humor when he asked, "So what . . . you want to ask him out or something?"

Kinta blushed. "No!" After a playful slap on Lee's shoulder, she added, "I just want to meet him, you know, and find out why he keeps showing up in my visions."

* * *

Later that week, Kinta poked her head into the infirmary, "Doctor, do you have a minute?"

Doctor Carolyn Lam motioned her inside. "Sure, what do you need?"

Kinta had been considering seeing the doctor but couldn't quite convince herself until that morning. "I've been feeling pretty run down and can't seem to get my energy back. I'm thinking maybe something is wrong."

Dr. Lam pointed for her to take a seat on a Gurney where she could do a basic examination. "How long has this been going on?" She pointed a light into Kinta's eyes and felt the glands around her neck.

Kinta shrugged her shoulders, "Awhile."

Lam pulled up Kinta's medical records on the computer to see what kind of problems she had in the past. It was very little but she did see a blood test that was two years old. Dr. Lam pulled it up and started looking at the results. Everything looked good until she saw the word Ancient. She wondered when her father was going to get around to telling her that they had an actual Ancient at the base. She needed to know these things to do her job.

"Well, you're probably just catching a virus. Let's draw some blood and see what the results show." She had a nurse take the actual blood while she pulled Kinta's records from the file cabinet. She felt a visit to her father was in order.

Each step Dr. Lam took towards General Landry's office infuriated her more. It was bad enough that her father had requested she be transferred there, but to have her report under his command was even worst.

She tapped on his open door to draw his attention, "General."

"Doctor! Please come in." Landry was elated anytime his daughter paid him a visit be it on a personal or professional level.

"When were you going to tell me we had an Ancient on base?" She threw Kinta's file onto his desk. "I need to know these things if I'm going to treat these people."

Landry was stunned. "What are you talking about?"

Dr. Lam opened Kinta's file and pointed to the line reading race. "An old blood test shows that Kinta is an Ancient."

"Oh great." Landry saw what the doctor saw. "I wasn't aware she was an Ancient, but I will find out and get back to you," he calmly explained. Landry closed Kinta's file and hung on to it as Dr. Lam left. Once she was well out of sight, he put in a call to Jack O'Neill.

After several minutes, he realized that no one seemed to be aware that she was an Ancient and called SG-1 together for a meeting to discuss the matter.

"I find it totally irresponsible that we have an 'Ancient' among us and we don't even know it!" He made ditto gestures with his hands to emphasize ancient. "I mean we know she's from another planet – that should have set off a couple of flags right there!" Landry was furious that Kinta had been with them for so long and no one checked into her background more.

"Sir, are we sure she really is an Ancient?" Carter asked cautiously. "The planet she came from is almost stone age."

Landry pushed Kinta's file over to Lieutenant Colonel Carter for her to see for herself. "The blood test says so." His nostrils flared as he continued, "I want to know how she slipped through the cracks so easily."

Carter read the report and suddenly saw something that stood out to her. "General, I think I can offer an explanation. This report is signed by Dr. Janet Frasier on the day that she was killed in action." She took a deep breath as she thought back to that dreadful day. "We had filmmakers here, if I remember right, and Woolsey from NID. It could be that Janet intended to inform us but was called out to the field before she could share the results." A sadness came over Sam, "She was killed before she could tell anyone."

Landry, realizing it was a sore subject, took a less argumentative stance. "We're going to confirm the results with a second blood test. Let's hold off telling anyone until we get those results back."

Dr. Lam spoke up, "It will be a couple of days before we get the results back."

Daniel was looking over Sam's shoulder and couldn't help but smile. "If she is an Ancient, this would be fantastic. Just think of the things she can help us with." His mind was already racing with ideas. Then he asked a startling question, "Do you think she even knows?"

Everyone looked at each other wondering the same thing.

Landry reiterated, "Like I said, let's hold off telling anyone until we get those results back." He turned to Dr. Lam, "Could you try and get some more information from Kinta on her background without letting on that she's an Ancient?"

"Of course." Dr. Lam replied. She wasn't sure if his statement was demeaning or not, of course she could inquire without telling Kinta anything. Did he think she was stupid or something? She kept her thoughts to herself even though it angered her a little.

"Very well then. Once Dr. Lam gathers more information, we'll meet again to discuss the findings." General Landry took back the folder from Colonel Carter and returned to his office.

* * *

**The Fourth Horseman**

Kinta was bored. She had pretty much showed Dr. Lee all that she knew and wondered if it was time for her to return to her home planet. She still didn't feel like anyone trusted her here. If it hadn't been for the fact that she could build weapons, they wouldn't have invited her back at all and she knew it.

Suddenly the phone in her quarters rang causing her to jump. Her phone never rang as she answered it cautiously, "Hello." It was Dr. Lam.

"Sure. Is now okay?" Kinta was glad just to have something to do. Dr. Lam needed more information for her files and wanted to ask Kinta a few more questions.

Kinta rushed down to the doctor's office where Dr. Lam was waiting. "So what did you need?"

Carolyn Lam showed Kinta a single page from her file. "This is all that we have on you which is unheard of since you're an alien and have spent so much time with us." She just shook her head. "We should have a full history on you in your file and we don't so I just need to ask you some simple questions and get a family history on you."

Kinta shrugged her shoulders, "Okay." No one ever asked her much about her background and she never thought to offer it.

Lam had a form which she began filling in. "Parents names?"

"Hmmm." Already a hard question. Kinta thought for a moment, "Well, my mother's name is Alana and she never told me who my father was."

"Is your mother still living?"

Kinta smiled sheepishly, "Well, I'm not sure. I don't think so."

Dr. Lam looked up hoping for further explanation, which Kinta reluctantly offered. "The moon that we lived on was destroyed and most of the people there either perished on the moon or died on the planet we gated to. I didn't see her on the planet and I don't know if she was still on the moon or not."

Dr. Lam asked, "Did any gate to a different planet?"

"Well, no. But you see my mom left me in an orphanage when I was six years old and I don't know if she stayed on Aedin, that's what we call the moon, or if she went somewhere else." Kinta shrugged her shoulders, "I just don't know. I never saw her again."

Kinta noticed a sadness come over Dr. Lam. Even her spider senses, as she grew to call them, told her that Dr. Lam was deeply affected by that bit of news. "I turned out okay though." Curiosity got the best of her as she read the doctor's mind and realized that the doctor had been abandoned by her father as well.

"General Landry left you and your mom? God, what an ass." Kinta suddenly realized she had verbally expressed what she only meant to think. Now the doctor would know she had read her mind. "Sorry, I didn't mean to read your mind. Really. I just felt you get sad and wondered why." She knew she'd be in trouble now. "Please don't tell Landry, he hates me already."

Lam chuckled at Kinta's remarks. "Yes, he is an ass isn't he." She also realized that trying to keep a secret from Kinta would be much more difficult than she originally thought. Suddenly, they both felt like best friends.

"So have you lived on any planets other than your home world?" The doctor inquired.

"No, just Aedin, Caelur and Earth. We didn't have gate addresses to know where else to go." Kinta was not about to reveal her secret laboratory.

The doctor wrote the information down as she asked the next question, "Have you ever been seriously ill?"

Kinta remembered when she first got to Caelur. "Yes, as a matter of fact. We had to gate to Caelur so fast that no one had time to get inoculated for the diseases there. Me and just about everyone else from the moon got very sick and most died."

This caught Dr. Lam's attention. "What kind of symptoms did you have?"

Kinta started listing several that she saw in her friends, "Really high fever, delirium, convulsions, throwing up food..." She scratched her head as she tried to remember. "I know I had some really weird dreams and was unconscious for several days."

Dr. Lam wrote each symptom down as she commented, "I'll probably want to draw some more blood to see if I can determine what kind of illness you had and run some other tests too." She finished her note. "Just to see if there are any residual effects."

Lam continued, "Any other illnesses?"

Kinta shook her head no.

"Okay. Then how about you tell me about your powers that you have. I know you're telepathic." That was a given. "Do you have any other abilities?"

"I can heal by touch. But I can only do about one person, if it's really serious, before it exhausts me." Kinta replied.

Dr. Lam wrote the information down. "Anything else?"

Kinta hesitated for a moment which Dr. Lam picked up on. She gave a reassuring smile, "I'm not trying to pry, but it would help me to have a good idea of all your abilities. Even the minor ones."

Although still reluctant, Kinta complied. "Sometimes I have visions that come true."

Dr. Lam noted that as well. "Any others?"

"No."

"Okay, that should do it." The doctor put the form into Kinta's folder. "I think I'd like to do a MRI on you for our records. It won't hurt or anything."

The next day, the MRI was taken, along with a brain scan, and Dr. Lam began immediately studying the results. After she had Kinta's blood tests, Dr. Lam was ready to meet with the General and SG-1.

As the group came trickling into the conference room, Dr. Lam hooked her computer up to the main projector to make her presentation. When everyone was ready, she began.

"The blood test has confirmed again that Kinta is an Ancient, but I've been comparing her EEG against Aiyana, the Ancient we found frozen in Antarctica, and they don't match." She pulled the two brain waves up on the screen. "They seem to have similar abilities where both can heal by touch and both seem to have some telepathic ability. But that's where it ends."

She then put up the lab results from Kinta's blood tests. "Kinta also mentioned a serious illness when she first arrived on Caelur and I've isolated the antigens but it too does not match the illness of our Antarctica Ancient. All I can conclude is that Kinta is different."

Colonel Carter spoke up with an idea, "We know that the Ancients split off from the Ori. What if there was a third split and some of them took a different path all together."

Just then, a nurse rushed into the conference room and whispered something into the Doctor's ear. "Sorry to leave the meeting early, but more personnel are getting sick from the Ori virus and I need to tend to that right now." She rose and left quickly behind the nurse.

* * *

Dr. Lee came running into the lab. "Kinta, I've been ordered on another project." The urgency was evident by his actions. "The base is on lockdown, we have an Ori virus that is making everyone sick."

She quickly asked, as he was running out the door, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Lee poked his head back inside. "No, we've got an Ancient helping us." As an afterthought, he added, "Just keep your head down."

"Yeah right." She replied sarcastically. Kinta had come all this way and what do they do – expose her to another virus! Her thoughts immediately returned to the illness of her youth where she watched helplessly as all her friends died.

The virus moved so fast that by the next day, things were critical. Dr. Lee walked into the lab and began rummaging through a drawer searching for something. It as evident that he hadn't slept since she'd last seen him. Kinta could hear him cursing under his breath.

"Can I help?"

He continued looking through a stack of CD's as he replied, "No."

Kinta could sense his nerves were on edge and didn't want to push it. She put the headphones back on her head and continued what she was doing.

Suddenly he was tapping on her shoulder. Removing the headphones, she looked up at him. "What?"

"Are you listening to music?" Lee asked.

Not knowing where he was going with his question, Kinta replied cautiously, "Yeah."

He sharply asked, "What kind?"

Kinta showed him the CD cover – Black Pariah.

"I need this!"

Without hesitation, Kinta removed the CD from her player, put it in the case and handed it to him.

Seeing other CD's sitting there, Lee began looking through them and selected a couple more which he helped himself to.

On his way out the lab, he shouted back to her, "I'll return these later." He was gone before she could reply.

Meanwhile, Samantha Carter could tell that Orlin was having difficulty concentrating. "Are you doing okay?" She asked concerned.

He nodded yes, but she knew he was lying.

She sat down next to him as she conveyed some good news. "We've got another Ancient here but we haven't told her we know yet. Maybe she could help."

This intrigued Orlin and he stopped everything he was doing. He was sure he'd be able to pick up if another Ancient was there. But he felt nothing. "Where is she?"

Samantha led Orlin down the hallway to the other lab where Kinta was working. She nodded towards Kinta.

Orlin's hope faded quickly as Carter noticed his disappointment. "What's wrong?"

Orlin explained as Kinta turned around having heard them.

"It is difficult to explain within your social structure and not appear cruel, but I will try."

He walked over to Kinta and placed his hand on her head to make sure he was right. "Biologically, she is an Ancient, but she was born with deficiencies which made her inferior and could not be corrected."

He removed his hand. "Most likely she was placed with a different race where she would not appear so mentally challenged and could live a normal life. That is our way."

Kinta looked over at Carter in shock wondering what was going on.

Orlin concluded, "She cannot help me. It is beyond her grasp as it is for you as well." He turned to leave, "I must do this myself."

Samantha Carter followed Orlin back to where he had been working. "Sorry about that, I was only trying to help," she explained.

"That's okay."

Although Orlin wasn't able to finish what he started, he had done enough to help, which was all anyone could ask of him, before the memories left him altogether.

Kinta was able to piece together what had happened and had read Orlin's mind in his debilitated state without him knowing it. Although it was, as he said, mostly beyond her grasp, she did pick up some mechanical knowledge that she could use. Orlin's revelation had also given her something to think about – she was an Ancient. This made her study of the Ancient lab even more important to her because they were now her people.

After the emergency was averted, General Landry and SG-1 decided it was time to confront Kinta about her heritage. She was called into the conference room for a little discussion. Kinta already had an idea of what was going to be brought up. Landry didn't trust her and that was the primary fact leading to this meeting.

"Kinta, as you now know, your blood tests indicate you are an Ancient." Landry began slowly. "But it looks like you're not at the mental capability of an Ancient like Orlin."

Kinta sat there listening but the nagging feeling that Landry didn't trust her bothered her more and angered her slightly. What had she ever done to them to not deserve their trust? She had never taken up arms against them nor passed their secrets on to anyone else. Her planet merely wanted to be friends – no more.

"If we should ever be able to find a power device for a repository of Ancient knowledge that we know of, maybe we could try and upload it into your head and improve those circumstances but right now we just don't have that capability." Landry gave out a sigh, "I guess what I'm saying is thank you for helping us out and showing Dr. Lee your expertise with the weapons you designed, but we have no further need of your help and you're free to return home."

Although he was trying to be nice about it, the fact was, it still hurt. They got what they wanted and she was basically out the door again - Wham, bam, thank you Ma'am. And although Kinta knew she should just keep her mouth shut and graciously leave like before, she just felt that a few words of wisdom should be expressed.

"General, that's a crock of shit and you know it." Kinta bluntly put it. "What you're really afraid of is that I'll learn something I shouldn't." She just couldn't keep quiet any longer as her frustration began to show. "Just 'who' am I going to tell? I live in a cave! Do you think the rocks are really going to care if the Tau'ri have secrets or not?" Her hands became more animated as her anger rose.

"I've never done anything to the Tau'ri yet you treat me like I have the plague or something. But know this!" She held up her index finger to emphasize her point. "Being challenged is not a bad thing – it keeps you sharp. In fact, I'm smarter than most of you in certain areas." She let out a sigh of relief that she was no longer holding her feelings in. "You're going to need me again someday and guess what?" She paused dramatically, " I'm not interested."

She rose to leave, "I think we're done now."

Landry was shocked by her outburst but decided against a confrontation and just let her go.

Kinta had already packed her things and had them waiting in the gate room in anticipation of what was to come. She was glad she did. After giving Walter a hug goodbye, she walked down to the gate room, gathered her belongings, and walked through the gate. It felt good to stand up to them.

--The End –

* * *

**REVIEWS GREATLY APPRECIATED!**


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